A Lesson in Urgency
During the summer of 2013, my freshman year at the University of Arkansas, we had daily workouts with the team. We had to travel from the Quads, where we stayed, to the stadium (the old facility) and then to the weight room near where the new facility was being built. It was a process that required time. My roommates were none other than Hunter Henry, current New England Patriots Tight End, and my two best friends from high school, QB Austin Allen and DB Alex Brignoni, so we had a tight bond and traveled together everywhere. Most of the time, we were on the same page.
One hot summer day, we were running a bit late to workouts, and I started feeling nervous because I didn’t want to have to roll across the field or make the team do up-downs if we were late. I ur the crew to pick up the pace and started to get frustrated. “Guys, we have to get going. I don’t want to be late.” It was obvious to me they didn’t care, and it was not apparent to them that I wasn’t crazy. Maybe we wouldn’t be late, but I didn’t want to risk it. We ended up making it with like 20 minutes to spare, but it was too close for comfort.
While some might think a small thing like this isn’t a big deal, to a linebacker and any football player, it is. I’m not calling my roommates out for not being intense, but in this moment, I had to light a fire under their butt to make sure I wasn’t going to get in trouble. It’s this kind of intensity that I brought to everything I did, a trait I feel carried me further in football than anyone thought I would. This INTENSITY required to win in football, at every position, and carried throughout your life will carry you further than you ever think you can.
In this article, I’ll explain intensity, why you can’t be successful in football or life without it, how to use it in a healthy way, and strategic tools to increase your intensity for optimal performance. Learn these strategies now, and you’ll find yourself competing on a different level than anyone else, leading and paving the way for others to follow in pursuit of success.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE INTENSE
Intensity strongly correlates with being high-strung, but it just means you care more than others. To be intense means that you care how things are done, that things are done well, and that you won’t accept a lower standard than most people.
If people think you’re high-strung, you probably are, but don’t worry, you’re not alone. Guys like Tom Brady, a former teammate I write about often, also have this trait. While he balanced it well with a healthy lifestyle and consistent Super Bowl Wins, this type of intensity still took his talent to the very top.
Intensity as a Focused Force
Being intense means that you’re wired in a certain way that moves you differently than others, allowing you to push through petty, insignificant distractions so that what matters most to you takes priority. You care deeply about how much work you’re putting in and don’t want to waste time on menial details. It’s about doing what matters most, and when you see others falling behind, it frustrates you because it doesn’t seem like they care as much as you do, and you know that their effort isn’t championship caliber.
You might find this interesting or not, but the scientific formula for intensity is this: I = Intensity, P = power, A = 4r^2 = area.
I = P/A
The intensity of a light is really energy density. The amount of energy propelled in a concentrated direction is the amount of intensity that is produced. When you shine a flashlight without a lot of battery, low energy, and its focus is spread out wide, is it very intense? No. You barely see it. If you shine a hyperfocused light beam on one small tiny dot and the dot begins to catch fire, is that intense? Yes.
That’s the intensity we’re looking for. We want a high amount of energy going in one singular direction. Only then will our goals catch fire.
WHY YOU MUST BE INTENSE
You must be intense because it’s how the Creator of the universe brilliantly designed us.
A couple of verses that come to mind are:
- “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” – Deuteronomy 4:24 (ESV)
- “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) (Underlined by me)
God wants all of your love and all of your attention. He doesn’t want lukewarm people, and you won’t find his kingdom being lukewarm or giving half effort. In fact, I think it’s only with this intensity that you want nothing more than to do your very best, requiring the highest standards, that you’ll find God. You must want it more than you want anything else.
At our sessions at BEC, I constantly talk about being intense and urgent. Those are the most important words to me. In every drill, if you don’t make a fanatical effort, have a fierce desire to focus and improve, and give it all you’ve got, then you’re leaving ample opportunity for growth on the table and not maximizing your training. Intensity means that you’re sacrificing every fragment of energy possible to accomplish your goals on every rep.
Why must you be intense? This is the only way to grow to become all you can be. Every ounce of your energy is focused in one direction.
Intensity on the Field
Think about it like this: Let’s say you’re the middle linebacker for your team. Your defense has 11 players on the field, and you’re just one of them. On every play, someone will either make the tackle or make the play, or they will score. It’s one of those options. There’s a lot of things going on on the field. You have to get the call, relay it to the team, direct the defensive line to the defensive backs, read the offense’s formation and alignment, get aligned, and help the team understand the different plays that could happen. Then you have to do your job and make the play.
As a linebacker, it’s your responsibility to make the tackle. YOU must make the tackle, nobody else. The second you think somebody else will make it is the second that nobody else will make it. There is no time to waste on any other matter as you have so much to do that any attention directed elsewhere is wasted energy. Even further, you’re about to have a 300 lb lineman running full speed at you with the same desire to crush you as your fiercest enemy on top of a top-rated running back capable of power cleaning 400 lb. Do you think you have the energy to do anything else? Do you think you can accept anything less than your absolute best effort with the highest intensity? Think again.
This is the intensity required. Your growth and your life are on the line at every moment. Do you allow distractions to deflect your attention, or are you focused on the task at hand, giving it your all? This is God’s call for us.
Healthy Energy vs. Being High Strung
While being high-strung and intense are pretty similar, they’re not the same, and one can certainly come off as distasteful and unappealing as a leader. Therefore, it’s important to separate the two and provide an avenue of adequate adoption for being intense when you need to be rather than being high-strung in all moments.
High-strung means that your intensity carries over into everything you do. During practice, you require a certain level of energy and activity, and when teammates don’t live up to this unreasonable expectation, you can’t hold your frustration back. Honestly, I’m speaking to myself here.
Coaches also often exude this intensity if they don’t feel their players are pushing as hard as they can. Their job is to help boost a player’s intensity and see the player fully maximize their potential. A higher intensity helps develop a higher intensity.
- As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” — Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)
Adopting this intensity in your life is essential, but when it comes to leading and building relationships with others, you must meet them where they are, or they won’t respond. Slowly, carefully, and graciously, you guide them along the path that helps accomplish your relationship’s goals.
As a football player, my intensity paved the way for my teammates to follow. I encouraged others to level up their intensity without condemning them for falling short. There were many times in practice when my former high school teammate, now college linebacker teammate, Dre Greenlaw, wouldn’t know what to do. After a while, it seemed he didn’t care because I kept repeatedly telling him the same thing. “Bro, get out there on #2. It’s CLOUD!!” (giving the hand motion of my hand over my head to signal cloud, or whatever it was.) I would get frustrated and yell because it was like Groundhog Day! Learn from your mistakes! Luckily, he could make 12 mistakes in the same play and make up for it with his speed, so rarely would that affect his performance. It sure did drive my blood pressure through the roof.
Dre, current stud San Francisco 49er linebacker, knew that the intensity was well-meaning and that I cared for him underneath the frustration. I wasn’t ridiculing his character but demanding a higher standard for his performance. He knew I could be a (semi-)normal person off the field and respected my high intensity for what it meant for our ability to win games and for him to improve as a player.
Intensity means that the standard you set yourself means that you’re not worried about how others perceive your effort for the things you do individually. When working with a team, you’re leading the way while also providing grace to those who aren’t on the same page. It might get lonely, but slowly, you’ll surround yourself with similarly wired people.
STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING INTENSITY
Building intensity is like increasing your running speed. To build speed, you must run fast and often. You literally have to train your nervous system to activate quicker, which relays to your muscles to contract with more intensity. Every time you train your speed, it’s about running faster and faster. You won’t run faster by going through the motions and running at the same speed you’ve always run. The body must get used to a new and higher level of operations. It’s a slow process, but it works.
It’s the same thing with intensity. When you know that you care more about something (improving a skill, being better) than anything else, you’ll fight to ensure that nothing distracts you from achieving that goal with increasing intensity. It’s a constant battle to go harder, to do more, to let go of distractions, and train to be more focused than you were the day before you must train within yourself.
Once you begin on this journey, there is no going back. Every inch of improvement in your intensity is a step in the right direction, and there is no wasted movement.
- “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” – 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)
Strategies for Building Intensity
Building intensity is like increasing your running speed—you’ve got to train your body to operate at a higher level consistently.
Here’s how:
- Decide: The first step is simply deciding that you want this. Once you decide, the ball starts rolling, and your intensity will increase. You begin loving the challenge of intensity instead of dispersing your energy.
- Remove Distractions: Start with tangible distractions, like what you listen to, what you watch, or anything that doesn’t serve your goals. Every sensation—sound, taste, or information from books—can pull your focus. If it doesn’t help you reach your goals, it’s wasted energy.
- Constant Reminders: Remind yourself why intensity is important. Our world is full of distractions, and nobody is immune. Even Jesus faced temptation. But every time your mind wanders, give yourself grace and start again, fully focused.
CONCLUSION
One of, if not THE greatest college head coaches of all time, Nick Saban, said in a recent video that talent isn’t enough to be elite. It requires a passion and intensity that takes the talent to higher places. Your talent is your power, but when your energy is dispersed, that power isn’t finely concentrated, and your talent is wasted. High intensity means you’re honing your talent to the best of your ability. It means that you’re doing things differently, you care about how great you become, and others will either hop on board or find your behavior repulsive. You know you’re going higher than anyone else expects.
Don’t fall victim to the endless distractions and decide you’ll give everything you’ve got toward your goals. And remember, don’t look down.
NOBODY ELSE WILL MAKE THE TACKLE. GO GET IT.
