Shaquille Leonard excelled in his six years with the Colts, making a name for himself as he battled through injuries and disproved the critics who didn't believe he could succeed. He was a three-time first-team AP All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler and constantly involved himself in the Indianapolis community, giving back whenever possible.
Now, two years removed from the NFL, Leonard hasn't wavered in who he is or what his goals are; he's a volunteer coach for the football team at Lakeview High School, his former high school, and the head coach of the junior varsity basketball coach.
"Just trying to give back as much as a possibly can, and see if we can find the next one to help them on their journey and just show them the way," Leonard said on this week's episode of The Colts Show.
Leonard recognizes the impact he has on the young children in his hometown, and has fully embraced his responsibility to help them along and reach their highest potential. He knows how important it could be for a young child to hear that the All-Pro NFL linebacker Shaquille Leonard believes in them, and so as much as he teaches about football and basketball, he's really teaching life skills and confidence.
"It's a beautiful thing for me to meet a kid where he's at, or she's at, and watch them grow and watch them turn into something that I saw potential (for), but they didn't see it," he said. "And once they reach that, the happiness on their face, I mean, it's indescribable of the joy that it brings me to see these kids live up to their expectations or do something they didn't know they were capable of doing."
Subscribe to Indianapolis Colts Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or your podcast platform of choice to get fresh episodes of The Colts Show, The Jack Doyle Podcast, Instant Reaction and Inside Football with Rick Venturi delivered to your feed every week during the regular season.
Leonard sees himself in those young kids he's coaching, and as someone who has never forgotten where he comes from, that motivated him even more to return to his hometown and become such an involved member of the community.
"It just lets you know that no matter what you do or who you are, you always remember your process of what you've been through to get to where you are," he explained. "For me, being at Lakeview, we've always been the smallest team, the majority of the time living in poverty, stuff like that. And me making it out, my job is to come back and give back to the town that gave me absolutely everything.
"Just because of my name or what I've done with my career, it doesn't make me any better than the next person beside me. So I just love being back. I love to give back to my community, give back to the kids and just show them that there are some great athletes that's out here that got great attitudes, and you don't have to be arrogant to go out and put everything on tape. Just try to make sure they understand the right way of doing things."
Leonard is giving his all to his athletes, just like he once did on the football field. And in turn, they've given him something as well: his love for football.
When Leonard made the decision to walk away from the NFL after the 2023 season, he was heartbroken. He was on top of the world, doing everything right and succeeding at the highest level -- and then, injuries just took it all away. It was all out of his control, and he didn't understand why he couldn't at least finish his career in the way he envisioned, on the field.
"It was heartbreaking," Leonard said. "It sucked for a long time. For a while, I couldn't watch football. And once I started coaching back at my high school and being around the kids, they brought joy back to me, gave me a reason to get going. It was the first time in my life I didn't have a reason to get up and continue to grow as a human being. But now, I got these kids back at the high school and I want them to succeed so much because they want to so much, that gives me that motivation each and every day."
