While growing up in Houston, Texas, football started to become an integral chapter in Johnny Benjamin's life. Now, the game has continued to play an important role in Benjamin's life - who is now Dr. Johnny Benjamin - as he claims his experience on the gridiron has helped him perform as an orthopedic surgeon.
"The biggest thing about football, especially being the quarterback and ultimately becoming an orthopedic surgeon, is that you have to be confident in your abilities," said Benjamin, who currently serves as the Chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Indian River Medical Center and Director of the Joint Implant Center and the Medical Specialties Surgery Center in South Florida. Benjamin advanced in the sport to eventually become a quarterback at Baylor University. "When you go on the field or go into the operating room, you have to feel supremely confident that you can do what is necessary and bring your team through."
Benjamin would later go on to earn a Bachelor's degree in Science at Baylor before acquiring his medical degree at the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. In an effort to further his career, he completed a general surgery internship and received his orthopedic surgery residency at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia and attained his surgical spine fellowship at the Florida Spine Institute in Clearwater. Even after practicing as a doctor and being engulfed in the study of medicine for the past several years, Benjamin, who now lives in Vero Beach, Fla., still enjoys reminiscing about playing youth football in Houston.
"I played youth football for as long as I can remember," Benjamin said. "For me, it was a great opportunity to play a game I loved, be with my friends, and have a lot of fun. I really grew up my whole life playing football."
Aside from how many times his team scored a touchdown or won a game, the youth football memories that Benjamin cherishes most are about the lessons he learned and the friendships he made.
"Those things were everything to me - teamwork and camaraderie are things that you really can't explain to someone who's never experienced it before," Benjamin said. "When you play sports, especially a team sport like football, and everything's on the line and you're in the trenches together ... you just can't replicate that."