Giving someone a chance…

Several years ago, when I was the volunteer rugby coach at New Mexico State University, I was approached by a young man after practice who said he was interested in playing rugby. He explained that he was still in high school, but would be coming to NMSU in the fall and asked if I could include him on the team.

I remember looking at him that day and thinking that he’ didn’t seem to be the type of kid who would do well as a rugby player. He still had baby fat on his face, had a shy demeanor and nothing about him said “competitive athlete”.

But I said I’d be glad to have him on the team, silently assuming he’d come to only one practice, never to return but be able to tell his geeky friends that he was once on a rugby team NMSU.

I was completely wrong to make such a quick judgment. I should have known that kids at the age of 17 still have a lot of physical and mental growing to do.

The young man turned out to be one of the best rugby players I had the privilege of coaching during my time at NMSU. He became a team leader, was dominant and aggressive in his play and ended up winning several regional honors and was mentioned as a possible All-American college rugby player.

There was another young man I coached who previously had no athletic experience in high school.

“I was a band nerd,” he told me.

He was tall and lanky and wanted to play scrum half, a position which usually requires a person with a short physical stature and quick reflexes. I initially didn’t think it would work out but I gave him a chance at that position. In his senior year, he was named as a member of the all-tournament team for the western regional college rugby competition.

I was also fortunate to have two fine young men named to the collegiate All-American rugby team. In both of those cases, I was able to convince them to play a different position than they originally wanted to play.

So I got two right and two wrong.

I mention this because I’ve just read the story about former NMSU quarterback Diego Pavia being named as a finalist candidate for the Heisman trophy. My wife and I were fortunate to see Pavia play for two years at NMSU. He came to the Aggies from New Mexico Military Institute after the University of New Mexico did not give the Albuquerque native a chance to compete for that school. I wonder how the person who made the final decision not to take Pavia at UNM feels now.

I think we’ve all learned our lessons over the years that you should not make quick judgments about people and their ability. It’s easier to say than to do it.