Former Steelers’ center Dermontti Dawson had one of the most successful careers in the NFL – 13 years with a single team, seven Pro Bowls, one Super Bowl appearance. Looking back, he provides some helpful insights into his personal rules that led to his success.
“Of course, once you make it, that’s the easy part,” Dawson said. “Maintaining and having longevity – that’s the hard part.”
And how do you do that? Although the game of football is very taxing physically, Dawson believes that it all starts with the mind.
“You have to be mentally tough,” Dawson says. “I think the mental aspect of the game is the most important part of it.”
For Dawson, that means a few different things. The mental aspect of the game includes knowing the offense inside and out, which was something he learned from Mike Webster, the Hall of Fame center that preceded him in Pittsburgh. “He probably knew the offense better than the coaches,” Dawson said. “He just reinforced it in his brain until he knew it backwards and forwards. And that’s what I tried to emulate when I took over after Mike as a center.”
To Dawson, mental toughness means knowing the difference between being injured and being hurt. “I was being paid to play,” Dawson said. “I knew if I was injured and I couldn’t do it, I’m compromising the team, because I’m not at 100 percent. Being hurt is totally different. Sometimes you’ve got to play with a little pain.”
“I think that was one of the keys to my success.”
Another key to his success was something he could have borrowed from the ancient Greeks, who said, “Know thyself.” In football terms, know your weaknesses as well as your strengths. “I used to hate running distances,” Dawson explains. “But I knew that I had to have that cardio base.”
“We all like to work on our strengths, so I started working on my weakness, which was distance running.“
Dawson put together a program combining distance running for cardiovascular fitness, with sprint intervals and full on sprints for speed, along with his regular regimen of weight lifting for strength.
“As a professional player, your body takes such a pounding, that you’ve got to keep in shape, you’ve got to keep strong in order to rebound from injuries,” Dawson explains. “You’re not going to go through a whole season without injuries, bumps and bruises.“
The ability to persevere and play through minor injuries was key to his NFL longevity, and to do that required dedication. Asked what one word the defenders that lined up across from him would use to describe him, Dawson answered, “Tenacious.” He never gave up.
“You played hard from whistle to whistle, each play,” Dawson said. “You’re going to lose some of the battles, but my mentality was that I’m going to force my will on my opponent, no matter who I played. He could be bigger, stronger, it didn’t matter.”
Beyond mental toughness, focus, and tenacity, Dawson believes that character is critical to long term success for an athlete, “We have to act and carry ourselves with integrity, on and off the field.”
He believes it is critical to “do the right thing, all the time, no matter where you are.”
“People are always looking. I think you have to hold yourself to a higher standard – act with character, and have character.”
Finally, Dawson recognizes the importance of the relationship between the athletes and the fans. Dawson explains one final rule: “Never turn anybody away, especially a fan.”
“The fans are what make the game. That’s what pays these players. Players that dismiss the fans – that is taboo to me and just not right.”
“I think that is paramount, because that is what builds the game.”
