Work ethic

One of the prevailing values of the American culture has been our work ethic. Pretty much every person who has risen to the top in any field has had the value of work imbedded deeply into their character.

A young man who I admire deeply wears his work ethic as a badge of honor. East High Scarlets basketball player and member of the graduating class of 2018 Osdy Villegas will not let you out work him.

Coaches frequently sing the praises of their players, almost habitually saying this or that player is a hard worker. But in the case of Osdy, this compliment is quite literal.

A basketball season is a grind. We practice or play six days a week. The workouts are always exhausting. The competition we faced was brutal. Osdy was always there for us day in, day out.

But this is only a small part of the story. In addition to meeting and exceeding the high expectations which are normal for a varsity basketball player, Osdy took it a big step further. You see after a full day of school and a long, demanding basketball practice he would then go to work.

Yes, he was a full time working man on top of playing on the varsity basketball team. Nights and weekends throughout the season Osdy held down regular employment.

To make this story even more compelling, Osdy was a rock star at school! 

While most seniors are spending their last days on cruise control, Osdy kept his foot on the gas. He finished his years at East with nearly ten credits more than required. His last semester schedule included college level classes in speech, financial management, and pre-calculus. He also was taking Advanced Placement Spanish, Literature and Composition, as well as American Government. Like I said, full speed ahead! While many of his classmates were skipping periods or even entire days, his attendance was exemplary. Most impressive of all, was that in all his years enrolled in the Des Moines Public Schools he had zero behavior referrals. None. Zero. Not a single one in elementary, middle school, or high school. It’s no wonder. He was too busy getting ahead.

A conversation Osdy and I shared is something I will remember for a long time. It revealed a side of his character beyond a strong work ethic. We were several games into the season. We had not won a game and unfortunately Osdy was not playing very much. He asked for a meeting in my office. I’ve coached a number of years and this typically means the player is coming in to complain, so I girded myself for a contentious discussion. Much to my delight, Osdy instead came in with several cogent ideas on how to improve the team at both practices and on game nights. Osdy had obviously been watching, listening, and reflecting on our team. To emphasize, he was not thinking about himself, but about the team. Best of all, his ideas were not mere random musings, but highly practical and worthwhile suggestions.

The name of this blog is Winners in the Game of Life. Everything documented on this site are the hallmarks of being a successful person. Any person who has the capacity to work beyond all reasonable expectations and who at the same time puts the needs of the group above himself is a winner in the truest sense. Some people work very hard on behalf of their own selfish ambitions. Still other people have high ideals, but lack the grit to keep after it day after day. An exceptional few work like crazy in a highly productive manner not only for himself but for the betterment of others.

Osdy Villegas is in that last group of selfless, extraordinarily motivated, academically prepared young adults which our society desperately needs in order to lead us through the rest of this century.