Whether it's helping bring a winning culture to the Seattle Seahawks or giving back to his community, former NFL running back Shaun Alexander wants to leave his mark wherever he goes. The Seahawks legend recently volunteered at the USAA Salute to Service Bootcamp, a project close to his heart, as his older brother served in the Army.
The event, described by Alexander to CBS Sports as "wonderful," included 125 service members in total, with 50 participating in drills similar to ones you'd see in the NFL, from combine drills like the 40-yard dash, to the quarterback arm challenge and a reflex challenge.
He joked that "competition is still competition," so participants favored the drills they were best at.
Alexander served as the coach and mentor and while he was putting them through drills and giving them advice, he also used it as an opportunity to "tell these military men and women how thankful we are for what they do."
"I want them to know that everybody matters," he said.
The former NFL MVP knows a thing or two about how to be successful in the league and his advice goes beyond football.
"I told [the service members] what I tell most people ... the four ways to be successful are: Put God first, set high goals, work hard and have fun," Alexander said, and the service member who won MVP of the event credited Alexander's four ways to success for his personal honor.
Throughout the event, Alexander noted that everyone was really encouraging of each other and reflected back to one of his goals of making sure he encourages people, even in simple ways. His encouragement has reached young players he coached and former teammates, saying the most rewarding off-field moments for him are watching those he helped grow "pass down that knowledge, be successful and mentor others."
"Seeing the process of people taking my generosity or taking my love or my teaching and watching them walk that out to go be great, there's nothing like that," he said. "... I've got this great platform and I can use this platform to go encourage other people and create a great moment for others."
Laughing, he said his wife, Valerie, calls him "mentor man," always wanting to bring a teaching moment to the table. If he could be "mentor man" for this year's rookie class, the former first round pick encouraged the young players to not try and "do things that are outside their body."
Rather than try to replicate what another player is doing and be someone else, he tells them, "You want to be the best you that the world's ever seen," telling them to hone in on their craft.
When it comes to his greatest accomplishments on the field, the first thing that came to his mind wasn't a personal stat or record, but the lasting impact he helped create in Seattle. Coming from a high school ranked nationally and attending the University of Alabama, going to a team that went 6-10 his rookie year was a "shock."
Playing the Seahawks in Seattle didn't pack as much of a punch as it does now.
"When I left, everybody was like, 'Oh we play in Seattle, that's a loss,'" Alexander said. "That's the culture that you're supposed to build. When I come back to Seattle and see the confidence, the pride that they have for this football program, that's what I love. I love that I got to be part of building that here."
Alexander predicts that the winning culture will continue for the 'Hawks in 2025. The Seahawks were the only 10 win team to not make the playoffs last year and Alexander doesn't see history repeating itself.
"I think we'll win more than 10 [games] this year, I do think we'll get in the playoffs ... I'm liking where we're going with this team," he said.
