Footballers talk about responsibility and duty on and off the field

To make anything work and work well, you need leadership. Its one thing to have a willing and dedicated team be it in business, sports or society. But a great team needs to guided and thats where leadership comes in. Thats what makes veterans like former Mariners pitcher Jamie Moyer and Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck so special. They lead by example on and off the field.
Marysville and Lakewood are replete with athletes like Moyer and Hasselbeck. In particular are John Ruddle, a senior and middle linebacker at Lakewood; Joey Davenport, a junior and part-time running back at Lakewood; and Brett Preheim, a senior and runnning back at Marysville-Pilchuck.
Each of these young men have been exemplary leaders on and off the field. But where did these skills come from? Why and how do they exhibit leadership? The Marysville Globe wanted to know and met with the players in Ravon Portrait Studios for a group interview to discuss leadership.

What attributes should a leader possess?
JR: Someone who can stand up, who tells people what they need to do and how to get it done.
BP: Class. Be an example and dont follow people thats the whole point of being a leader.
JR: Yeah, be a role model.
BP: Youre supposed to show what youre supposed to do, not what you want to do even though what you want to do may sound like a lot of fun, its not the right thing.

What are examples of what you do as a leader on the field?
JR: I try to pick up somebody whos really down on themselves, try to help anybody whos lacking.
JD: Show them how to do it better, just help them fix it, see if they do it right. If they dont, try to fix it again.
JR: Yeah and if theres a conflict with a couple of players you try to figure out whats going on, help them out.
BP: Same thing. You cant always be the nice guy.
JD: Yeah.
BP: Sometimes you have to be the bad guy. Somebodys got to do it.
JR: Coaches hold us to a higher expectation. They hope that you meet that standard.
BP: A kind of an unspoken standard. You know it. You dont have to talk about it. The coaches know it.

How about at practice today?
JR: Everybody was lacking in practice today so I called everybody into a huddle and just started screaming, just pushing people trying to get their moral up.
JD: Showing some intensity.
JR: Yeah, trying to get them pumped up for the practice.
JD: I was showing enthusiasm, getting them all pumped up.
BP: The captains with me, one, Curtis Klepp he was pushing the hardest, motivating the whole team.

How do you exhibit leadership outside the football field?
BP: Family. Im the oldest. Im not going to say I do everything right but I try. I dont have to get on my sisters too much.
JR: We help out with some of the youth football kids.
BP: We have youth football camp for our high school and then we helped out the youth football. So we had two youth football camps going. And Curtis Klepp, hes actually coaching with the youth football team in his spare time. I try to help out whenever I can.
JR: We try to show them the fundamentals so theyll be better next year. Our coach wanted to do it and we volunteered to help him. We knew it was expected of us as captains to be there.
JD: We already knew this stuff so it was easier for us to help.
JR: Its always nice to help out.
BP: And also when youre a little kid, varsity football players seem like the pros, so they think, Oh, my gosh youre a Tomahawk. So I think its kind of fun. I get a kick out of it. Theyre only yea big and running around in circles not really knowing what to do, so, its fun.
Another thing weve helped out with, and you guys reported on this, was the Rotary thing, the clean up on 88th. We plan on doing more with them hopefully.

Do you think those around you view you as a leader?
JR: I would hope so because we always try to step up and just volunteer, show initiative in everything we do, try to set examples for everybody.
JD: Both on and off the field.
BP: I think on the field is important but we spend a lot more time off the field and thats really important too.

What are some challenges that come with being a leader?
JR: Youre always held to a higher standard so to meet that standard becomes very difficult sometimes. Because youre human and youre going to feel weak sometimes after practices.
JD: You have to stand up for people. Sometimes at practices, some people get on other people and you have to tell them that they shouldnt be doing that, the people bickering. You have to stop that.
BP: These guys are your teammates and you dont want to yell at them. But if you have to, then you yell at them. But I like pump them up, tell them that they made a good play or that they worked hard. Thats probably the hardest part, that you have to come down on them sometimes.

Do you think youre born with leadership skills or is it learned?
JR: You can develop it just like any other skill.
BP: I think everybody can be a leader its just the ones who choose to be.
JR: Exactly.
BP: Some people choose to be followers. But everybody is capable of it.

How do you think these skills will apply after school?
JR: Just in showing initiative in what you do. Step up and show that you can do things better than most people.
JD: Just by doing your best in everything.
BP: Hopefully by being a boss one day. Run my own company or something.

Who is a leader you admire?
JR: You might not like it but I guess Id say President Bush. I mean the guy takes so much criticism every day and he still has the guts to come out and just talk and do his job.
Some people might disagree with him and everything, but the fact is he is still leading the country, hes doing what he needs to do and hes trying to do the best that he can. So you really have to respect that.
JD: My brother. I look up to him. He used to be a leader in all the things he did. He used to be in sports and he was always good in sports. So I try to take after him.
BP: Id say Martin Luther King, not just because of what he did but because of what was against him. I mean, he had so many people against him and to lead thousands and millions of people to make them believe they should be free, thats pretty much a miracle.