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There are things in life that make the transition from the civilian world to the Marine Corps easier. Organized sports is one of them.
Football is unique amongst organized sports as it borrows heavily from military teachings. Not only does it share many of the qualities of the Marine Corps, such as pride and high expectations of its members, but also demands teamwork, camaraderie and determination to defeat an opponent.
It’s no wonder that if Marines are asked if they participated in organized sports, football would prove most popular.
Lance Cpl Carroll A. Pierce, a special communications signals collection analyst assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa, and a Chico, Calif. native, knows the similarities intimately as he played college football at Butte College, a community college located in Oroville, Calif.
Disaster struck Pierce when he was at the height of his football career.
Pierce found himself in the uncertain position of not knowing what to do next with his life after he sustained a knee injury during practice.
“If I was going to join the military, it was going to be the Marines,” said Pierce. “It wasn’t going to be something else. My grandfather and his brother were both Marines. So, I went to the recruiting office.”
But the Marine recruiters didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for the former offensive lineman.
“They told me ‘You’re too heavy, we’re not even going to talk to you’,” said Pierce.
Pierce, however, was undeterred.
“I went back and created my own diet and exercise plan,” Pierce said. “I cut out all my weight lifting, basically, I ran. I’d spend about 30 minutes a night doing something similar to a HITT program. I completely cut out all carbs and sugars. I didn’t even eat fruits. It was either raw vegetables or steamed vegetables with a side of fish.”
Pierce, who once weighed 315 pounds, lost 95 pounds in four months to return to the recruiting office.
“They didn’t recognize me,” said Pierce. “When I told them I’d been there before and they told me I was too heavy, that’s when they recognized me.”
His recruiter was just as motivated in enlisting Pierce as he was in losing the weight.
Pierce confessed the journey wasn’t easy in the beginning.
“About three weeks in, right before the pounds really started to shed off, I was getting really frustrated because I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted,” said Pierce. “I really wanted to quit.”
But he didn’t.
“I just knew this is something I really wanted,” said Pierce. “And if it was something I really wanted, then it was absolutely worth it to push through it.”
Though being a United States Marine was the clear end goal, losing all the weight also helped him to realize how mentally strong he was.
“I figured I had a lot more inner drive to accomplish things than I did before,” said Pierce.
The experiences of football, the mental and physical exertion, was something that helped him when he went to boot camp.
“During summer [training], it’s 110 degrees outside and you’re doing two-a-days in pads with the rest of the guys and you just want to quit,” said Pierce. “It sucks. It’s hot. Nobody wants to be there, but you know if you put the time in then it’ll pay off later,” said Pierce. “That’s something my high school coach said and I’ve always taken that to heart.”
“It really sucked in boot camp but I kept telling myself it’s only three months and it sucks now but you get to be a Marine at the end,” said Pierce. “I kept telling myself ‘That’s why you enlisted. That’s what you want. You’ve got to put in the time now to get what you want’,” said Pierce. “That’s what I carried from football into the Marine Corps.”
It also helped that he had the support of his loved ones.
“My whole family was supportive,” said Pierce. “Going through my weight-loss transformation, [my father] was always there to keep me on track, especially when I wanted to quit. He wouldn’t let me.”
When asked how the journey from football to weight loss, and then, finally, the Marine Corps shaped his thinking, Pierce offered his unique perspective.
“You can always make an excuse of why you can’t do something, but at the end of the day, everyone is capable of doing everything they think they can,” said Pierce. “There’s nothing stopping you but yourself. I know now that if I truly want something, there’s nothing stopping me but me.”
For those who have thoughts of joining the Corps, bettering their lives through physical fitness, or challenging themselves in ways they never thought, Pierce kept it simple and realistic.
“Set up a solid plan, stick to it,” said Pierce. “The hardest part will be the first couple of weeks. You’re going to want to quit every other day. You’re not going to see immediate results. You’re not going to get that immediate gratification. But if you push through and stay true to your plan, then it’ll all work out in the end. Just push through it. You’re stronger than you think you are.”
“I’m glad [the brotherhood] continued [once I joined the Marine Corps] because that was one of the things I loved about football was my teammates and it’s absolutely true that every one of the Marines I came out here with are my brothers,” said Pierce.
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.13.2017 17:31 |
| Story ID: | 237645 |
| Location: | MORóN AIR BASE, ES |
| Hometown: | CHICO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 98 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Former Offensive Lineman Loses Weight to Join the Marine Corps, by SSgt Kenneth Trotter Jr., identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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