My Nickel’s Worth
Recently, I came across a remarkable story about a man named Codey McElroy. He grew up in a town called Frederick, Oklahoma. It is a town that I am very familiar with because it is only 25 minutes away from where my family lives. McElroy played baseball and basketball in high school in Chattanooga, Oklahoma - only a few minutes away from Frederick.
After High School, Codey went to Eastern Oklahoma State to play baseball. He was quite the star there, hitting 8 homeruns and driving in 33 runs on the season. He transferred to the University of Texas to play baseball the next season and was drafted one year later by the Atlanta Braves in the 2014 MLB draft. He played 2 years of minor league baseball before calling it quits. He then enrolled at Oklahoma State University to finish his degree, and while there was a walk-on to the Oklahoma State basketball team.
He played one season at Oklahoma State and graduated. He took one year after that and became a baseball coach for Wichita State. The next year he decided he wanted to try football - a sport he had not played since he was in middle school. He played one year of football at Southeastern Oklahoma State University as a tight end and was signed after the season into the NFL by the Los Angeles Rams. He moved from the Rams to the Dallas Cowboys, and then on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad. He was called up to play on Dec. 21, 2019 vs the Houston Texans where he caught a 30-yard pass in an NFL game!
McElroy has stayed with the Buccaneers on the practice squad and will receive a Super Bowl ring. His story is one that could easily be turned into a movie. For the past 10 years, he has done something different every single year, from playing college baseball, playing Division 1 college basketball, to catching a pass in an NFL game. It is such an inspiring story and it’s such a great reminder to not let anything stop you from chasing and reaching your dreams. You can accomplish anything that you put your mind to and work for in life. Never stop climbing the mountain, and never become complacent. You can achieve anything.