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I was fortunate to spend this evening playing with my wife and daughter on a playground that holds both memories and the future. Adjacent to the playground and beneath the sweltering setting sun was a football field riddled with the cleat marks and exasperated sighs of a swarm of 5th grade boys learning the rules of the gridiron from their coaches – presumably for the first time. While my daughter and wife occupied themselves on the playground swings, I listened to the barking and drilling of the coaches as they tried to imprint their philosophies on the kids under the temporary governance of their whistles.
My experience as a young football player was some of my most cherished while growing up thanks to the awesome friends and coaches with whom I was lucky enough to share the field. I learned what it meant to lose and then I learned to win. As I overheard the same coaching with 20 additional years of experience between my ears, I started to understand the the parallels between football and life. These soundbytes resonated with more meaning than the first time I heard them as a kid:
- “The absolute worst thing you can do is stop. Never stop. Keep those legs moving.”
- “Always follow whoever is blocking for you.”
- “You fall down, you get back on your feet. You fall down again? You get right back on your feet again.”
- “No one’s gonna feel you coming at them half-assed – you’ll bounce right off. You square up to your opponent and then hit them head-on.”
- “You don’t worry about your speed until you’ve perfected your form. Perfect your form, then work on your speed.”
I hope those 12 year olds understand that in 20 years that there’s simply no better advice than the sagacity afforded to them by their coaches tonight. Rock on. And many thanks to you, Coaches Ralston, Zinser, Eichberger, Earhardt, Bosler, et al. I remember it like yesterday. Because I’m still living it today.
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