I thought this article would be a corny, cliche' list of fat-guy righteousness. It's not, these five points are on point and anyone can utilize them.
5 Leadership Lessons You Learn Playing Offensive Line
By Lester Crafton
You may not get to score touchdowns, your name may not be called out for making tackles and you may even hang your head a little when you tell someone you’re “just” an offensive lineman, but there are lessons you are learning now which will bring long-term value to your life.
1. You are learning to take joy in the dirty work. As O-Linemen, we weren’t put on earth to look pretty, we were put here to make other people look pretty by doing the dirty work and taking joy in their successes. ...[in a world full of people with big ideas, it’s the people who are willing to not only do the dirty work, but to learn to enjoy it, who actually make those big ideas a reality.]
2. You are becoming keenly aware of how your decisions impact other people. If you miss a block, one of your best friends could end up with a concussion or a broken body part. One of the attributes which separates an average leader from a stellar one is how well they are able to understand the impact their decisions have on other people.
3. You are developing resiliency. If you’re an offensive lineman, it’s always your fault. No matter how well you execute your responsibility, your teammates will still screw up, and you’ll still get blamed. This is part of being an offensive lineman.
4. You are learning the ability to work for delayed gratification. Offensive linemen do receive credit eventually, but it’s after the winning is done. It’s not in the weight room. It’s not on the practice field. It’s usually not even during the game. But when the game is over, when the season is done, and when your glory-hound teammates aren’t walking around with a limp in a decade, they will be very grateful for the effort you put in.
5. You learn to listen well and react quickly. Learning to listen well while in constantly changing, pressure-filled situations is a hallmark skill of a leader. And it’s one you are developing each day you play offensive line.