The Hard Hat: 21 Ways to Be a Great Teammate

Chapter 8A Difference Maker

George came from a family whose success was based on hard work and helping others, and that was how he lived his life. His team knew that he could always be counted on to help someone else. He would take the shirt off his back and give it to someone in need. George didn't live for himself; he lived for his team and for others. It was no surprise that George was named a captain in his senior year. But George's leadership didn't stop in the locker room or on the field.

When we weren't in season, he volunteered as an assistant to a Little League team on weekends in the Cornell polo barns. He had played baseball and been coached by volunteers when he was a kid, and wanted to give back in the same way.

After the 2004 season started, Ladeen Case, who was the wife of our athletic trainer, Jim Case, and taught at a school in downtown Ithaca, asked me if our players would be interested in reading to elementary school students. George happened to be standing next to me and I asked him if he would set this up. George quickly organized a group of his teammates to read to the students and they planned to make their first visit after our next game.

George wasn't sure what he wanted to do after graduation, but he had started to seriously consider teaching. The desire to teach became stronger after visiting his high school teammate and college friend Brigham Kiplinger, ...