Notre Dame star gives inspirational talk to St. Viator students

Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.

That was the case last month, when St. Viator High School drew Notre Dame middle linebacker and co-captain Joe Schmidt to address members of the student body.

Schmidt's story is inspirational. He went from being a walk-on his first two years, to becoming a scholarship player, starting middle linebacker and team MVP in 2014. Members of the press have likened Schmidt's story to a modern-day Rudy only with a better ending. (Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger's 1970s experience as an unlikely walk-on was made into the movie of the same name.)

"I think Joe is that and more," said Bill Sanford, a dean of students at St. Viator and head lacrosse coach, who simply emailed Schmidt and invited him to come. Sanford also earned his master's in education at Notre Dame, so he admits to being an Irish fan.

"This began as something I wanted to do for my lacrosse captains," Sanford added, "but the more I read about him, the more I thought he is such a well-rounded, intelligent, faith-filled person that he would be a good influence for any of our students seeking his type of message."

Consequently, less than one month after Notre Dame's loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, and finishing the season ranked 8th in national polls, Schmidt set out for the first time to give a motivational talk.

"If it gets boring, just boo me," Schmidt told nearly 500 students, coaches and faculty members who turned out to see him. "I'm not used to doing this."

Sophomore Rocky Smeriglio, who attended the talk with the rest of his wrestling team, said Schmidt's message hit home.

"I was surprised how many kids came," he said. "And I couldn't believe it was his first time as a motivational speaker. He was good."

Schmidt and Sanford did a Q&A type interview, with Sanford feeding the questions about goal setting, leadership and overcoming adversity.

Right from the start, Schmidt grabbed students' attention when he told them that he was 5 years old when his father (also Joe Schmidt, who with his mother, Debra, was in the audience) sat him down and told him write down five goals.

Schmidt finally did and he said the last one turned out to be prophetic: He wrote that he wanted to play football at Notre Dame.

"That goal became something I drafted my life around," Schmidt said.

That was the start, Schmidt says, of a ritual he developed of writing down his goals. He went from carrying them in his wallet to posting them on the wall of his dorm room.

"I look at them every day when I'm brushing my teeth," Schmidt said. "When you see something each and every day, your mind creatively finds ways to achieve them."

Schmidt said he grouped his goals into categories, including academics, social life, faith and service. When one student asked him what he did if he couldn't achieve one of his goals, Schmidt said he broke them down into increments of daily, weekly and monthly goals.

"If you go after them like that," he said, "you'd be surprised how much the arc rises."

Schmidt's description of his goal-setting lifestyle, and how that led to him achieving them, seemed to be the first take-away for students who attended.

"I like how he described setting goals, and especially his first goal of playing football at Notre Dame," said sophomore Peter Beiswenger of Fox River Grove. "I can't believe he did that."

Likewise, sophomore Joe Cleary of Arlington Heights, a lineman for the St. Viator Lions football team, said he came away thinking about Schmidt's work ethic.

"He really shows that hard work can pay off," Cleary said.

Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly has described Schmidt as one of the leaders of the team and a great representative of the program. When Sanford asked Schmidt about leading his teammates, Schmidt said he didn't take the task lightly.

He described spending six months reading the biographies of such leaders as business tycoon Warren Buffett, martial arts expert Bruce Lee and the longtime UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.

"I would say, seek out advice from other leaders and mentors you respect," Schmidt said. "Meditate and visualize what you want your message to be."

He then pointed to four key components of leadership: clarity in the message, crafting a specific plan of how to improve the team, authentically caring about the people around you, and bringing positive energy, especially when adversity hits.

Schmidt was faced with real adversity midway during the 2014 season, when he suffered a season-ending injury in a game against Navy. However, just like his quest to become a starting player, Schmidt was relentless during his recovery.

"Nothing was going to derail me from my dreams," he said. "I worked hundreds of hours to come back."

Schmidt earned his undergraduate degree last year in management and entrepreneurship at Notre Dame and currently is taking graduate courses toward his MBA while working part-time in the Notre Dame investment office.

He told students that he never had a goal of playing in the NFL and he now hopes to finish his graduate degree. However, if his first public appearance was any indication, he may have a future in motivational speaking.