INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — National Signing Day isn’t just about athletics, it can also provide valuable lessons off the field.

WISH-TV contributor Emil Ekiyor joined News 8 to discuss how the community can make a difference.

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication it takes to get into collegiate sports, Ekiyor said.

“They work hard, they train hard, they get the required test scores… We just watch a lot of young people from all around central Indiana signing letters of intent to go play major college football,” Ekiyor said.

That dedication goes well beyond the field and into lessons for life. Students getting their talent noticed from, what Ekiyor calls, “invisible talent”.

“Somebody told him in Little League football, like you have the talent. If you work hard, you could go to  NFL and that athlete probably just grab, grabbed a hold of that and believed in that. So we need to do more of that,” Ekiyor said.

Just like the whole town giving a kid a chance and raising them with opportunities in sports, the same needs to be done elsewhere.

“We don’t do that in other industries and we need to because that’s what inspires young people to see more of themselves. So when we say the talent progression system that athletics has created, that can be replicated in other industries.”