This year we’re looking forward to a fresh start on our team. With a lot of young players, or new players to this city, there’s a focus on really finding the identity of the team. Our coaches have really put an emphasis on establishing what we’re are going to be about and how we are going to get there. We’re working hard and putting a lot of time and focus into our preparation for this season.

All training camps are about instruction and preparation, but this time, for me, it’s different because I’m in a new city with a different team, and that team has a different strategy that’s new to me. The Browns organization has put a lot of effort into building the infrastructure of our team so that it’s very player-oriented. They really have done a great job of making sure that we’re able to recover in between the intense practices. They emphasize the importance of rest and recovery while training, which makes you want to stay on site and be with the team more. This structure has made our team so appreciative for the resources we have around us. We know that the organization is doing everything that they can for us to be successful.

With all the resources at our fingertips, and the hard training that we’ve been experiencing, I can’t wait to go out there and play for our fans. Soon we will be practicing at Ohio State where I will get to experience playing in front of Ohio fans for the first time as a Brown.

As a middle linebacker I have to make sure I’m really sound, doing my job. As the nucleus of the defense, I need to know all the plays and the calls, I have to get guys lined up and do it quickly. I can’t afford to make any mistakes.

Being one of the leaders in the locker room, I try to bring certain level of energy and excitement each day. It’s important to be positive and have a good work ethic. I want to be an example of what our coaches are calling us to be and lead others to do the same.

As I head home to my family each night I’m called to be a leader there too. Being a leader in the household is very similar to being a leader in the locker room. It’s not about giving orders and leading only with a set of rules to follow, it’s about leading by example. My kids and wife will see the way I live my life at home and on the field with my team. My teammates will see the way that I live my life on the field as well as how I am at home with my family. Not only that, the world will see how I live my life.

It’s a huge amount of responsibility to know that people are watching and I’m called to be an example.

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” —Luke 12:48

To do this I need to constantly understand that my relationship with God is first, then my wife, and then my kids. Everything else follows after that.

—Demario Davis

Demario Davis is a regular contributor to The Increase, providing monthly articles and opinions.

Check out Demario’s Increase profile here: http://theincrease.com/author/demario-davis/      

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