Big Dog Mindset | Celebrating athletes, unseen work and stories beyond the scoreboard. Every sport. Every level. Every era.
Joined November 2019
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Iโm beginning a new series here at @BigDogsAtWork:
๐ง๐๐ ๐ค๐จ๐๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐
Stories of athletes from every sport, every level and every era who lead through example, not the limelight.
Some have overcome extraordinary adversity.
Some have used their platform to carry something bigger than themselves.
Many have done both, often without receiving the attention their stories deserve.
Their stories may not always lead the headlines or fill the highlight reels. But through courage, perseverance, sacrifice and service, they remind us that some of the greatest things in sports will never appear on a scoreboard.
Because a Big Dog at Work is not defined by size, sport, position, statistics or spotlight.
It is defined by the work.
The standard.
What you overcome. What you carry. And who you lift along the way.
๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ.
This series is for them.
As you begin seeing the series, if an athlete comes to mind from any sport, any level or any era, please share their name and a little of their story in the comments below or send me a DM.
Weโll do the work to learn more and tell their story well.
Support the Big Dog mindset.
Celebrate the work.
Respect the grind.
#TheQuietStandard #BigDogsAtWork #MoreThanAGame
๐ง๐๐ ๐ค๐จ๐๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐
๐ฆ๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฏ | Laurent Duvernay-Tardif | Football
In February 2020, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was the starting right guard for the Super Bowl champion @Chiefs.
That spring, he was working as an orderly in a long-term care facility near Montreal.
Same man. Very different responsibilities.
@LaurentDTardif had earned his medical degree from McGill University in 2018 while playing in the NFL. The coursework, clinical training and football preparation required years of balancing two demanding pursuits.
When the pandemic placed long-term care facilities under extraordinary strain, he offered to help.
He worked as an orderly, taking on the care and daily tasks patients needed. His medical degree did not make him too important for that work.
In July, he opted out of the 2020 NFL season.
He later described the experience simply:
โI was basically helping where help was needed.โ
There was grief in that work. Patients died. The demands were unfamiliar, and the responsibility was real.
Laurent kept showing up.
What I appreciate is his willingness to learn from the nurses, orderlies and other caregivers around him. An accomplished professional athlete and medical graduate could still be a student.
That takes humility.
His commitment to serving others also extends to children. Alongside Florence-Agathe Dubรฉ-Moreau, he co-founded the Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Foundation, which provides programs combining sports and the arts to support young peopleโs education and development.
His own life gives that work credibility. He pursued football and medicine without letting either become the whole of who he was.
There is a useful question in Laurentโs example:
When we have something to offer, are we willing to do the work that is needed, even when it carries a different title than the one we have earned?
For a time, his title was orderly.
He treated it as a responsibility worth carrying.
๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ค๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ.
#TheQuietStandard #BigDogsAtWork #MoreThanAGame
Laurent and Florence-Agatheโs foundation helps young people explore sports and the arts through free programs that support learning, confidence and development.
Learn more about the Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Foundation here. The website is in French:
fondationldt.com/
Big Dogs At Work retweeted
๐จ ICYMI, we are so excited to announce a new series/spinoff of the show! Select Wed nights we will talk to the coaches, players and people who made USD, Vermillion and South Dakota what it is! Premier show debuts this Wed night 8:30pm with @CoachAaronHorn! Make plans to tune in! Live on Youtube, X and Facebook per usual!
Big Dogs At Work retweeted
Weeks 5-8
18 Tackles
1 TFL
4 PBUs
5โ10 170 FS/CB
@Meechie_47 @BV_CoachTerrell
Big Dogs At Work retweeted
@DanSogard is a Straight DUDE! I really donโt understand college recruiting these days ๐ค
Regular season highlights
8 games, 6-2 record
147-227 (65%) passing
2095 passing yards
25 passing Touchdowns
2 interceptions
@BV_CoachTerrell
@BVTouchdownclub
hudl.com/profile/19323224
Big Dogs At Work retweeted
I wonder how often we give up on someone because their progress doesnโt match our timetable.
Felix Anudike-Uzomah (@fanudike) faced surgery on both hamstrings, a long recovery and plenty of people calling him a bust. He kept working.
Thereโs a lesson here for every part of life. In our families, friendships, workplaces and the people we lead.
We can hold high expectations and still have patience. We can acknowledge where someone is struggling and still believe in what theyโre capable of becoming. Our encouragement shouldnโt depend on whether theyโre winning.
Most of us have needed someone to believe in us through a difficult stretch. We can be that person for someone else.
And when itโs our turn to struggle, we need to remember this ourselves.
Never give up on yourself. Or be too quick to give up on another.
Worth the read. Thank you, @SamMcDowell11 and @KCStar, for telling his story.
kansascity.com/sports/spt-coโฆ
@Chiefs | @KStateFB
๐๐จ๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ญ
We remember the touchdown.
The winning basket.
The championship.
But what about the people who helped those athletes get there?
The ones standing beside them when the season takes an unexpected turn.
Bruce Fischbach
@SDCoyotes | 1984โ2021
Athletic Training | Sports Medicine
For 37 years, Bruce was part of Coyote Athletics.
Through two NCAA divisions.
Through generations of student-athletes.
Through the injuries, recoveries, and difficult decisions that rarely make the highlight reel.
He spent more than 25 years as USDโs Director of Sports Medicine, supporting @SDCoyotesFB and @SDCoyotesMBB while leading a team of athletic trainers.
His work also took him to major sporting events, including the College World Series, NCAA championships, and the Orange Bowl.
But perhaps his greatest contribution was closer to home.
The healthcare professionals he helped develop.
The athletes he cared for.
The trust placed in him by coaches, families, and competitors.
In 2026, USD inducted Bruce into the Coyote Sports Hall of Fame as a special contributor.
A fitting recognition for someone whose contributions extended far beyond the playing field.
๐๐๐ค๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ
โข Every athletic achievement has people behind it whose names never appear in the box score.
โข Caring for an injured athlete requires more than medical knowledge. It requires trust.
โข Sometimes the most important victory is helping someone return to doing what they love.
โข Teaching the next generation extends your contribution beyond your own career.
โข A universityโs athletic history belongs to more than those who wore the uniform.
๐๐๐๐ซ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ๐
goyotes.com/honors/coyote-spโฆ
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐
๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ
goyotes.com/news/2026/8/20/gโฆ
No shortcuts
No entitlement
Just work
This is about the ones who shaped the path
And left it for others to follow.
#BigDawgs #ThePaw #GoYotes #DoTheWork #EarnIt #BuiltNotGiven #MoreThanAGame
Big Dogs At Work retweeted
The Thunder of @SJA_Gameday fall 31-17 to @BVTouchdownclubโผ๏ธ
St. James battled as @willbuser30 punched in 2๏ธโฃ TDs, bringing his total to 4๏ธโฃ TDs and 380+ rushing yards over the last 2๏ธโฃ games. Defensively, @BrintonBanker set the tone with a fumble recovery on Blue Valleyโs opening driveโก๏ธ
The Tigersโ @DanSogard, completed all but 4๏ธโฃ passes. Liam Axtell and sophomore โญ๏ธ @WesWilliams2029 found the end zone along with the Lockett twins, @jacoblockett11 (INT) and @Jordan_Lockett2 each recorded 9๏ธโฃ6๏ธโฃ receiving yards.
Defensively, @JoeyLonergan4, @dbarb3r_2027, and @Tyreekelley10 brought the physicality with hard hitting plays all night ๐
๐ #8 St. James hosts #9 JC Harmon next week at Marian Stadium as playoff football begins. Looking forward to the start of something special for this team๐ฅ
@WOWKCfootball @PrepsKC @kpreps @Coach_JDenton @Coach_CNeas21 @FBcoachRB @tradke85 @CoachJonesBV @Meechie_47 @McKenzieMNelson @mickshaffer @aaronladdtv @caroline_soro @RobCollinsTV @HaroldRKuntz3 @NRMedia50 @eliavgabay @JordyHamm @philgpbp @FBallGameplan @ConnorOnion @NoahReed_24 @GerardWellbrock @DaronVaught @Kyle_Youmans @PaulHembo @BrianSmoller @doctorgc @Denning_Gerig @STAAtalent
Big Dogs At Work retweeted
In 2013 Jason Eck was changing the oil on lawnmowers and golf carts.
He was a Division I offensive line coach. Western Illinois had fired the head coach, and rather than pay out what it owed the assistants, the school kept them on payroll and sent them to work other jobs on campus.
Eck got the golf course. Then they moved him to a cubicle at the public transit center in Macomb, Illinois.
Here is how he describes it.
"I got transferred to the guy who ran the bookstore and the campus bus system."
Saturday night his New Mexico team is 5 and 1 with the best scoring defense in the country.
He has five kids. Here is what he says about those years.
"We've been in bad debt, bad financial shape. I've got five kids so it was nuts."
The man who ran that bookstore and bus system, Jude Kiah, is the one who talked him out of quitting. Kiah asked him whether he really wanted to walk away from everything he had put in. Eck started hunting jobs instead.
By that July he was the offensive coordinator at Minnesota State.
He walked on at Wisconsin as an offensive lineman. He thought about law school and never took the test. After the Rose Bowl he asked to coach instead.
His own dad coached college basketball. Toledo fired Jay Eck in 1991, less than a week after a one point loss with an NCAA tournament bid on it.
Jason took job after job after that. His wife Kimberly found out he had lost the Ball State job while she was going into labor with their third son.
Then South Dakota State, where John Stiegelmeier told him he would make a really good head coach. Idaho hired him in December of 2021 and he went 26 and 13 there. New Mexico hired him two years ago.
Last season the Lobos won nine games, beat UCLA, made their first bowl since 2016 and sold out a home game for the first time since 2007. He was Mountain West coach of the year.
And one of his linebackers is his son.
Jaxton Eck came out of Brookings, South Dakota with offers from Sioux Falls and Northern State. Division II. He played for his dad at Idaho, and when his dad took the New Mexico job he had North Carolina State, Michigan State and Stanford asking for him.
He went to New Mexico. Last season he had 115 tackles and shared Mountain West defensive player of the year.
Father and son won conference awards in the same season.
Now the part that complicates it. One good year is not a program. New Mexico has been bad for most of the last fifty years, and the hard truth about coaches who win there is that somebody bigger calls.
But here is what Jason Eck says now.
He does not know whether he would ever have become a head coach if his son had not played football.
Thirteen years ago he was changing oil on a lawnmower.
What were you doing right before the job that changed everything for you?
Big Dogs At Work retweeted
REGULAR SEASON FINALEโผ๏ธ
Super excited to be on the Call as the Thunder of @SJA_Gameday take on the Tigers of @BVTouchdownclubโผ๏ธ
St. James looks to keep rolling after a rebound win over BVNW, but Blue Valley brings plenty of firepower of their own ๐ฅ
Who carries the momentum into the postseason? We got you covered. Come hang out with us๐๏ธ
๐บ 6:25 PM Thunder Pregame Kickoff | The Thunder Broadcasting Network on YouTube
@BV_CoachTerrell @CoachJonesBV @Meechie_47 @Coach_JDenton @Jordan_Lockett2 @jacoblockett11 @DanSogard @WesWilliams2029 @Braden_Gresham @johnnyxackerman @JoeyLonergan4 @dbarb3r_2027 @Tyreekelley10 @isaacReinert15 @JakeWidmanKicks @TorglerMicah @AndrewPower73 @wardaye_2027 @Ryder21king @max_thegoat_3 @dbarb3r_2027
Big Dogs At Work retweeted
Yotes,
A green army, flying high, marches south from the northern Dakota Territory. Old rivalries bring us once more to battle.
Two flagships. One territory.
With the townsfolk at our side, we ready the big guns and shall defend every inch of the DakotaDome.
For the Paw
๐ง๐๐ ๐ค๐จ๐๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐
๐ฆ๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ | Eric LeGrand | Football
There is a lot of life in the years since Eric LeGrandโs injury. We should talk about that, too.
In October 2010, @EricLeGrand52 sustained a spinal cord injury while making a tackle for @RFootball. He was left paralyzed.
Rehabilitation became part of his daily life. So did learning to rely on others for things he once did without thinking.
Eric has remained determined to walk again.
But he has not made everything else wait.
In 2014, he earned his @RutgersU degree in labor and employment relations. Broadcasting brought him back into football. Speaking, writing and entrepreneurship gave him other work to pursue, including opening a coffee house in his hometown.
Along the way, Eric recognized something about the attention surrounding his injury: many families facing similar circumstances had no public platform at all.
In 2013, he launched Team LeGrand with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, @ReeveFoundation.
The effort has raised more than $2 million for spinal cord injury research and initiatives that improve quality of life for people living with paralysis and their families.
Research takes time. Families still need support while that work continues.
Eric understands both.
He has also spoken openly about sad days, accepting help and developing the confidence to pursue new goals. That honesty gives his encouragement substance. He knows how much effort an ordinary day can require.
What I appreciate about Ericโs example is this:
You can hope for something to change without putting your entire life on hold until it does.
A degree earned. A business opened. A family supported. Those are real accomplishments, not placeholders until recovery reaches a particular milestone.
Eric continues to work toward walking again.
The life he is living now deserves to be seen in full.
๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ค๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ.
#TheQuietStandard #BigDogsAtWork #MoreThanAGame
Team LeGrand supports spinal cord injury research and quality-of-life initiatives for people living with paralysis and their families through @ReeveFoundation.
Learn more:
christopherreeve.org/get-invโฆ
