Imagine that you are a 19-year-old athlete who has a world of opportunity before him. Family … friends … school … the adulation of an entire hometown community that you know is completely behind you no matter what you do.
Then imagine giving it all up – voluntarily no less -- for a life-changing decision in which you find yourself randomly placed in another country where you work 12-hour days six times a week with little or no contact with your family or friends, no social life, and no true free time to enjoy a good book or movie.
Life in the NFL? No, this is all about life as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a life that New York Giants linebacker and special teams ace Bryan Kehl credits for not only making him into a better player, but also for instilling the discipline to make it as a professional football player.
Every year, approximately 53,000 Mormon missionaries, both male and female, go out into the world to assist others who are in need of direction in their lives, whether it’s spiritual or physical. The mission, while not a mandatory rite of passage into adulthood, is generally expected within the Mormon community, especially of the males.
The application process begins shortly before a candidate’s 19th birthday. Parties complete a preliminary application that is followed up by a series of health and psychological tests to determine their physical and emotional readiness for undertaking such a physically and mentally demanding commitment.
As the qualified candidates begin to emerge, they are next interviewed extensively by leaders of the Mormon Church who then make recommendations to the application board. If a candidate is deemed worthy of being sent on a mission, he or she receives a “Call Letter” by mail, which traditionally is opened in the presence of the candidate’s family and friends as part of a celebration of calling to a mission.
“The biggest thing is to serve people,” said Kehl of the mission’s objective. “We do that by helping people who want to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ and in helping them do actions that will bring them happiness.”
Candidates who accept responsibility for the mission often times undergo a major lifestyle shock. For starters, missionaries are not compensated for their work and in fact have to raise two years worth of funds (Kehl estimated his expenses to be about $10,000) to cover rent, food, clothing, and other necessities.
Candidates also don’t have input into where they go; thus, they could be sent to a third world country, such as what happened with some of Kehl’s friends, or to an established country such as Canada, where Kehl was assigned to go.
Once they have their assignment, they under go approximately three months of special training at their local Missionary Training Center so that by the time they are 19 years of age, they are ready to be sent into the world to make a difference.
“Sort of like the NFL draft when you think about it,” Kehl said about the process. “But probably a lot more demanding in terms of preparation, sacrifice, and hard work.”
A college athlete aspiring to play in the NFL knows that there’s a lot of hard work and sacrifice to be made before he can even hope to reach the big time. As such, some athletes spend countless hours in the weight room, working on their speed, studying film, and perfecting their skills to give themselves the best possible chance of being chosen in the NFL draft.
But unlike the Mormon missionaries like Kehl, pro prospects know that they can go home to a family or to friends, kick back, and spend a couple of hours of downtime unwinding.
“It’s a very, very strict schedule,” Kehl said of his missionary experience. “You wake up at 6:30 in the morning to spend about an hour studying the scripture. Then you spend another hour studying the scripture with your assigned companion. So even before you get out the door at 9:30, you’ve already put in two hours into your long day.”
He paused and then smiled. “By 9:30, you’re supposed to be out of the apartment and on your way to help others who are at a crossroads in life or who need help with mowing lawns, shoveling snow, or whatever. You get an hour for lunch and an hour for dinner, but other than that, for 12 hours every day, you’re out there helping other people.”
Missionaries do get one day off a week, but Kehl said that day is usually spent catching up on personal chores such as laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and letter writing. Missionaries cannot read books or listen to music unless it has to do with religion.
They are not allowed to call home unless it’s Christmas or Mother’s Day. They cannot take any kind of vacation in which they engage in a leisurely activity of personal interest because they’re given such a small monthly stipend out of the money they raised to embark on the mission on which to live.
Dating? Forget about it, as missionaries are not allowed to come within arm’s length of the opposite sex.
Yes, it’s a challenging process that goes on for two years for men and 18 months for women. It takes a special kind of person to deploy the discipline necessary to do the mission in the spirit expected by the Church of LDS, but those that do like Kehl emerge with a totally different perspective on life moving forward.
“It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Kehl said, “and the hardest.”
When Kehl returned from his mission in 2005, he had lost about 18 pounds, but was a changed person for the better. The experience he had completed, he said, gave him a completely new perspective on his purpose in life and also showed him the way toward tackling challenges that most other young people his age might have simply given up on.
First, there was the challenge of finishing school. Remember, when Kehl left for his mission, he had only completed one year of college, so one of his goals was to finish his degree, which he did.
The other challenge he had to face was whether he wanted to resume playing football.
After some soul searching, Kehl decided that he loved the game too much to simply walk away from it. So he re-committed himself to the rigors involved in playing the game in the hopes that he’d get the opportunity o do so.
Turns out that he didn’t have to worry as a month after his return from his mission, he was back on the team.
“I knew I was taking a risk by leaving football,” he said. “Some guys go on the mission and when they come back, they’re not the same person and realize that they don’t want to play the game anymore or that they can’t play any more.
“When I came back, it was about a little more than month before the season, so I figured I’d be red-shirted. But I was wrong; they just threw me back in there again.”
Kehl didn’t let his college coach or teammates down either, as he went on to finish his college career with 26 starts in 48 games; 205 tackles (108 solo), 7 sacks for minus 45 yards, 20.5 stops for losses totaling 83 yards; and a pair of quarterback pressures.
He also excelled on special teams, as he currently does for the Giants. One of his most memorable plays on special teams was when he blocked a punt that he recovered for an 11-yard return.
So strong was Kehl’s leadership that as a senior in 2007, the defensive team captain was named as an All-Mountain West Conference 1st-team selection in addition to having achieved Academic All-MWC honors.
Kehl credits his days as a missionary for not only empowering him in knowing that he can make a difference in the lives of other people, but also for helping him to realize that most of the other challenges in life, such as football, pale in comparison to what he accomplished as a missionary.
When Kehl was selected by the Giants in the fourth round (123rd pick overall) of the 2008 draft, he went into his rookie season with a new appreciation for the little details that are necessary to be successful in the game.
For instance, he embraces the long work days that a NFL program requires – work days which unlike his days as a missionary start at 6:30 but end around 4:30 most days -- because he knows that in the end all the sacrifices made will yield rewards.
But more importantly to Kehl is being in a position to continue the work he started as a missionary in terms of helping others within the local community. That’s why he says he doesn’t mind stopping to chat with fans, sign autographs, or pose for pictures.
“When I was a boy it meant the world to me when a sports hero stopped and took time to pay me some attention,” Kehl said. “It’s such a small thing and if you think about it, for what it entails and the rewards you get in seeing a kid smile or get excited because maybe you’ve just made his or her day, it’s just so worth it.”
That’s why when the opportunity to contribute his time to a worthwhile cause or to mingle with Giants fans presents itself, Kehl will almost always jump at it if his schedule permits.
“I strongly believe that the reason why we’re here is to help and serve each other,” he said. “That mission was a great opportunity to do it and the NFL is a great opportunity to continue it.
“We’ve been given certain gifts, talents, and opportunities and that we can’t bury those,” he added. “We have to expand on those and use them to bless other people’s lives.”
It’s this perspective that’s driving Kehl to become the best football player he can. “The better a football player I become, the more opportunity I’ll have to help change people’s lives, so I’m definitely driven by that,” he said,
“Having experienced the benefits of putting smiles on people’s faces when I was on my mission made me realize just how much power I have to make a difference in my community. So anything I can do is worth it to me because I see the influence athletes have on their fans, so I think it’s very important that we try to project a positive image for those who look up to us.”
