Ryan Lambert '12 Recruiting Profile

I believe football is more than just a game; life lessons learned in football have made me a better person. For me, these lessons can provide a segue to life in the "real" world beyond high school and college. There are numerous other parallels between football and life not simply with general life lessons but, more specifically, character. I believe character is just as important as athletic ability. Character to me means commitment, dedication, hard work, intensity of effort, passion, being teachable, leading by example, overcoming adversity, and making the choice to turn my back on negative influences (or having a band leader mentality - thanks to coach John Fontes). I work to develop my character. Commitment shows up every day at 5:30am when it's time to get up for the first session of two-a-days. Intensity of effort shows up during routine drills at the end of two weeks of two-a-days in maintaining intensity despite being mentally and physically drained. Being teachable shows up in my ability to improve from day to day, my desire to hear/understand feedback from coaches and learning a new position when asked by my coach. Leadership for me begins with setting an example as I work through drills. Overcoming adversity showed up when I remained committed and encouraged others to remain committed to off-season conditioning after the coaching staff left before my senior year. Making the choice to turn my back on negative influences shows up when I decline to take part in inappropriate off-field activities. I want to have a positive impact while I'm playing football not just on the football field but also academically in the classroom and in the community surrounding the school. In the bigger picture, after I'm done with school and have played my last down, I want to use my education to make a positive impact on the world particularly through engineering. I am looking for a school that correlates with my values and allows me to pursue this all-in approach.  I am looking to play football at the highest level possible.  After graduating from Deep Run High School this past June, I chose to pursue post graduate time to continue to develop as an athelete.  I am working hard in my post grad time at Hargrave Military Academy to ensure I am fully prepared.  I have added DB (mostly strong safety) to positions I can play.  I believe this will help me to be a strong contributor and competitor as I move to the next level.