ALTON - Super Bowl XLIII champion and now head coach of Hazelwood Central, Carey Davis, spoke to student athletes at the Knights of Columbus Quarterback Club Tuesday night, encouraging the athletes to never stop working towards their goals.
Davis said it was as a freshman at Hazelwood Central when he made the conscious decision to start focusing on playing professional football after a discussion with his basketball coach.
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“Trying to figure out how to make this dream a reality, within my first couple of weeks at Hazelwood Central I realized how to get there,” Davis said. “I saw coaches walking around the high school with Kansas State shirts on, Purdue shirts one, University of Illinois and University of Missouri. I made my plan to make my dream come true.”
By performing well at Hazelwood Central, Davis made the plan to make sure to get himself noticed by other schools in order to take the next toward his dream. As a starter on the Hazelwood team, Davis knew that college coaches from around the country would come to see him play.
“If I can get a scholarship to a big-time school, those are the guys that go to the NFL,” Davis said. “When I put my mind to something I was going to do everything in my power, everything that I could do, to make sure that happened. I was going to put in the work every single day to make sure that happened.”
Davis said that although looking back he maybe should have prepared more of a backup plan but he was dedicated to working every day to make his dreams a reality even though there were challenges such as knee surgery and a staph infection.
Playing for the Indianapolis Colts after college kept Davis striving towards his dreams although he continued to struggle reaching his goals after being cut by the Colts, the Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I had suffered through injuries which I didn’t think I’d be able to play again. I had suffered from being cut from Tampa twice, to a starter of the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Davis said you have to continue to push through and never give up no matter what you’re facing because you’re stronger at the end of it.
“There are only two things you can do when you face adversity, you can push through or you can give up. Nothing in this life will be given to you without work. Every single day you have to work. You have to be willing to work. You have to want to work. You have to love the work that is associated with what you are trying to do. If you don’t love it, don’t do it. If you are not going to put in the work, you are not going to attain your goals.”
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