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\u201cObviously, you lose games, and sometimes you have conflicts with players and coaches. Sometimes you may personally fail at something. When you reflect on them, are honest with yourself, work on self-improvement, and are able to take constructive criticism, you learn from your mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a growth program that works both on and off the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overcast said, \u201cYou\u2019re part of a team, so one thing you learned quickly is no matter how well you think you did, you have to rely on your teammates for success. That carries over through everything in school and your professional life. Learning how to participate on a team that consists of people with very different attitudes, backgrounds, and personality types will prepare you a little better for life in general.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Football was fun for Overcast. He gave it and academics his all. While football scholarships were an option, Overcast chose a full-ride, academic scholarship to the University of Tennessee, where he obtained a bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degree in physics and a minor in astronomy. You might say he switched from offense to defense \u2013 a career with the U.S. Department of Defense, to be more exact. As serious as his career sounds, Overcast is an advocate for fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo matter what you think when you\u2019re 16 years old, football is a good experience, and you learn things you carry throughout your life, but in the end, you can\u2019t lose sight of the fact that it\u2019s a game. You play games to have fun, and if you take it with that attitude, whether you win or lose, I think you\u2019re going to have a better experience than putting so much importance on winning at all costs. With that mentality, one of the first things sacrificed is sportsmanship and doing the right thing. I didn\u2019t feel that win-at-all-cost pressure when I played, but I do know many people, coaches, and parents take things probably more seriously than necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s that element of fun that fueled one of Overcast\u2019s favorite football memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt started with one of the football players, after an awards ceremony. He shaved his head, just the middle part of his head, to come in and look like coach Taylor. We sat down, one by one, and took turns shaving each other\u2019s heads with the clippers. It was a bonding, team-building moment that came up organically.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps fun is the pivotal offensive piece. In the game of life, we\u2019re the quarterback. The future\u2019s in our hands. Practice, preparation, and past games strengthen us for the next play or decision. The grimace-face defender is reality and responsibility. We\u2019ve got to get rid of the ball; whether we pass it or hand it off for the run, our decisions are going to advance our lives to the next down. When we look for light-hearted moments or schedule fun into our days, the scoreboard is just another light on the field. GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former Shelbyville High School football player Chad Overstreet shows that big football dreams and big academic dreams can go together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/DSC_5216-683x1024.jpg\")