PROFILE
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intramurals or get in a town league. Football
is different. They have some of that stuff, but
I’m already probably going to have health
problems when I’m older, so there’s no
reason for me to risk playing on some team
for $20 a week or whatever.
that I couldn’t. So it’s one of those things
where you’re always pushing yourself and
you’ve got that inner drive to be better than
your peers. So I think it gives you a lot of
values that, say, a normal college student
may not have.
“I don’t want to say I was depressed. That’s
not the way to put it. But there was definitely
something missing in my life, and it kind
of messed me up a little bit, not having
(football). And it actually took me probably
two or three years to realize that, without it, I
wasn’t who I normally was. But then I finally
realized, I’m not the person I was when I
was in college or in the NFL. Because I had
something missing, even if I didn’t realize it
was missing.”
“There’s also having a passion for something.
I think that’s a big thing is, once you have
a passion for something, it doesn’t really
matter how much money you make, it’s
just a fire burning non-stop. And that’s kind
of how football was back when I played.
There are no shortcuts to being great or
achieving success. Everyone sees you play
on Saturday and Sundays, as well as sees
the success of your business. However, what
they don't see is the countless hours you put
in out of the spotlight. If you put your mind
to something and have the enthusiasm to do
it, through the countless hours of work and
failure, eventually you will succeed."
Q:
a:
Have you found there are any specific
skills that translate well from the
football field to the business world?
“Absolutely. I think the biggest thing that
football gives you – and this is not even
necessarily football – I think this is just
competitive college sports, but it gives you
that drive. Where a lot of people come in to
work every day and need to be told what to
do – and I’m not saying I don’t need to be
told what to do sometimes, too – because
let’s be honest, one of the hardest things
to do is to drive yourself. But to have that
competitiveness, to come in every day and
try to get better. Going back to college, I
hated when someone could do something
Q:
a:
The success the Bison football
team has enjoyed recently is well
documented. Do you think there are
any lessons a business could learn from the
program?
“I think culture is one of the biggest
things that makes companies succeed
and fail. If you hire the right people with
the right culture, it’s a winning combination.
Whereas, if you start getting people who
don’t fit your culture, you start getting that
split and it pulls people in directions they
Schommer's
first job after his
playing days were
over was as an
athletic trainer in
Woodbury, Minn.
He then spent
two seasons as an
assistant coach
with the Minnesota
State University
Moorhead Dragons
football team.
18
FEBRUARY 2016