Division 1 student-athletes sacrifice a lot to be where they are.  For years, they work hard in order to be good enough at the time of recruitment.  Once recruited, the hard work can’t stop there.  In the Eric Thomas’s speech to the Wolfpack Football team, he breaks down the perceptions that student athletes currently have about how hard they think they’re working and emphasize the importance of taking full advantage of the opportunity in front of them.  The way student-athletes interpret their current situation is different than the reality of it.  

Eric Thomas gave a speech to the North Carolina State Football team.  Student-athletes needs to take full advantage of where they are at now.  Throughout the speech he told them about where he came from and how he became the person that he is today.  Also, Eric talks about how relaxed student-athletes get when they feel like they have made it.  It takes just more than talent just to play the game of football.  Student- athletes think they are working hard but in reality they are not because working hard does not just include you playing football; you have to be a student before being an athlete. In the speech he also talks about what if you do not make it to the National Football League, what are your plans after you graduate, what are you going to do with your life?  Eric Thomas gave the student-athletes a perception of what his life was about.

Eric Thomas states that people talk about the grind but really don’t know what the grind is.  “I am from Detroit, homeless, mom was pregnant with me at the age 17 years old, high school dropout, it took me 12 years to get a 4-year degree” (Thomas, 2014).  Eric’s background has been very influential.  He grew up in Detroit in the 70’s.  He also grew up without a father and was born on accident.  He found out through someone else.  After hearing the news Eric turned into a bad child meaning that he was hanging with the thug, clowning around in class and doing negative things as a child.  After getting into an argument with his parents saying that he wanted to leave, they stated, “Don’t come back once you leave” (Thomas, 2014).  Eric decided to leave the house and go out on his own.  After living in abandoned houses and eating out of trashcans, he noticed that he had to stop playing the blame game and start doing the right things (Thomas, 2016).

Although he comes from this unorthodox past he is able to connect and relate to people all across the world.  He does motivational speeches to football teams, universities, and even has his podcast channel.  In addition to everything else he has done in his career he has written three books called “The Secret to Success” (2012), “Greatness Is Upon You: Laying the Foundation” (2014), and “Average Skill Phenomenal Will” (2016) (Thomas,2016).  By Eric self-disclosing where he been and where he come from it allows him to be vulnerable and people can relate to this easily.  People starting where he has started, find it hard to get out of the situation but uses him as motivation.  

In this speech Eric Thomas is giving seizing the opportunities that are presented to him and shares that with the football team.  Every student athlete wants to make it as far as they can.  In this instance student athletes are playing a Division 1 sport.  There are many different ways to get to this opportunity such as, you are just naturally talented, work very hard, or you are just privileged.  Privileged meaning that they had the money for the best equipment, the best facility, and also the best trainers.  Thomas makes a point about privileged in his speech he says “Your Father might own a company; your Momma might be a millionaire, you might come from privilege, your daddy might hook you up with a car, he might be able to get you a job, but you will not out work me” (Thomas, 2014).  As a viewer being privileged does not mean you have to put in hard work.   Aside from the external factors that helps student athletes get to where they are the internal factors helps student athletes as well.  Student athletes are determined, very motivated, doing it for a reason, and persistent.  According to research student athletes have more hope than non-athletes which leads to higher levels of self-esteem and confidence (Curry, et. Al, 1997).  Thomas emphasizes that the student athletes should take advantage of their opportunities when he says “You need to take advantage of an opportunity of a lifetime in the lifetime of the opportunity” (Thomas, 2014).  

Now that student athletes made it to the position that they are in they think they do not have to work hard anymore because most of them are happy with where they made it to.  Thomas states that you don’t know what the grind is, you don’t know what hard work is.  Student athletes think that they are working hard because they have a tough time demands, meaning that it is very hard to focus in class and do your work when coming straight from practice to class.  Student athletes also take time out of their schedule to do research and watch film on their opponent to better themselves.  Student athletes are at an advantage during their college career.  When doing research, Halserig and Navarro, 2015 found that the career exploration found “D1 college athletes identify more with athletics rather than academic roles, which negatively influence their career exploration.   Student athletes do have these traits but Thomas states differently saying “you don’t really know how to grind.  You talk grind, but don’t really know what the grind looks like (Thomas, 2014).  By stating that you don’t know what the grind really is means that you might think you are working hard but not putting in the extra work to make you a better player or even a better person outside of football.   Student athletes need to know what hard work is during college and what the transition is like transferring o the real word after college.  

Eventually after your college career is over you will have to get ready to find a job if you did not make it to the National Football League.  In the real word you have to find people that you can trust and understand that you need to find a job that can support you.  Student athletes have an unrealistic dream of playing professionally (Harrison, 2003).  As Eric states that “the worst thing is going back to the hood, not taking advantage of this and you got to go back to the hood.  That’s the worst thing that can ever happen to a brother” (Thomas, 2014).  Thomas is preaching to them that you do not want to lose this opportunity because if you take advantage of the time you have their you will not go back to the hood.  The speech and research shows that student athletes perceptions about their life after college and reality do not align.  

Student athlete’s careers from the beginning to the end, interpret their futures different based on their unique experience.  Some student athletes have been praised since there were young athletes.  Most athletes work hard and get the opportunity to play a college sport.  Once you get to college everything is handed to you and do not know what hard work means anymore.  By everything being handed to them they do not have real future plans after their college career is over.  The speech helps viewers understand the misconception student athletes have about hard work because Eric Thomas hits them with reality checks about their life’s and future holds.   
