Being sporty at heart, I've wanted to learn football since I was a child. But I never got the chance because, growing up, my family didn't have the finances for extra-curricular activities.
One thing with me, and every goal I've had - in the sport of swimming, my mother didn't know my goals. The only person that knew my goals were my coaches.
When I was young, I always wanted to play in the Champions League.
It's been a dream of mine to play in the NFL, so whenever I hear my name being talked about in someone's mock draft or whether or not he should stay or go, it's always interesting to listen to, but at the same time, I don't take it for granted.
The Olympics was a goal, and definitely, swimming in college was a goal.
I didn't grow up playing football. I wanted to be a basketball player.
I had dreams in 2000 of being an Olympian for boxing. I never talk about it.
I went into the military because I didn't get a scholarship, a basketball scholarship I thought that I would get.
The captaincy thing is brilliant, and I love it. But I didn't start off playing cricket to captain England. I wanted to score runs and stuff.
I had always dreamed of being an Olympian, and something clicked inside of me. I knew I had to move to Salt Lake City and make this dream a reality.
I always dreamed of making it in baseball, but life has moved pretty quickly for me.
I didn't even dream of going to college. College was not in my definition. If somebody told me I was going to play for the Missouri Tigers in 2009, I would laugh at them.
I've always been clear: I want to play.
I was in school to play basketball; I wasn't trying to be a doctor. It's hard to talk about the NCAA rules and everything that happened in the past because I've just been focused on practicing and getting ready... I was trying to reach my dreams, and that's to play in the NBA.
As a kid growing up in Canton, Ohio, you never see yourself in a position to play in the NBA, much less have somebody pay you to wear shoes.
My confidence level is, I think I can be a first-round pick; I think I can be a professional basketball player.
I've always dreamed of being a professional athlete.
I've dreamed about going to the Olympics ever since I was young.
I'm proud of everything that I've accomplished since I was a little boy. That was my dream - to be a ballplayer. I didn't dream to win so many Gold Gloves, or Silver Bats or play in All-Star Games or World Series. I was just dreaming to play the game.
Up until the time I was 14 years old, I was sure that I was going to be a big-league baseball player. But that dream came to a rude awakening when I got cut from my high school baseball team.
When I started this I wanted to get back in the pool, I wanted to race and I wanted to go to the Olympics. I still want to do all of those things.
Alvin's the coach. We must be the Clippers. And I must be Olowokandi. Nooooo!
But I was so wrapped up in sports growing up as a kid, that I think I was going to grow to be a pro ball player. But I found out real quick that was not going to happen.
I really, really wanted to be an Olympian. My parents knew about this dream of mine, and they suggested I try my hand at bobsled. They'd seen it on TV at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002 and thought it would be a good sport for me.
Write this: Since my boy is the coach, I'm going to try out for the Dolphins next year. Tight end.
