Middle school football. We have just completed our first week of practice, and I am reminded of why I love this game. When I started coaching it, I had no idea I would have learned so much. I have experienced the strangest behavior while coaching middle school football. I remember a moment last year, towards the end of a game; I turned around to find one of my players with his helmet off, crying his eyes out. Confused, I said, “We’re winning, what is wrong with you, are you hurt?” He replied, “No coach, I don’t know why I’m crying.” I was baffled and a little bit embarrassed. I didn’t know what to say to the kid, so I simply said, “Put your helmet back on.” I thought to myself, at least no one would see him crying if he had his helmet on.
I never wanted to coach middle school football. I began my coaching career coaching defensive backs at the varsity high school level. I used to live for Friday nights under the lights. The crowd, the competition, and the speed of the game would always get my blood boiling. It was an exciting time. It was also a demanding job. Endless meetings, long practices, hours of breaking down film, and lots of time spent on the road would eat away the hours each week. It was during this time of my life that I received a piece of news that would change my life forever. Amanda was pregnant and our family was about to grow. I made an easy decision, and asked to be moved to a middle school coaching position which would demand less time. I never wanted to be an absent father, and coaching varsity football would have taken too much time from my wife and son.
The move to middle school football has been challenging, but these young football players have taught me a tremendous amount about the game of football and myself. I have learned a number of lessons, and I try to pass these lessons on to my young players. For instance, I try to teach my players that success takes hard work. Our youthful generation has a hard time grasping this concept. So often they only see the fruit of the labor, but never see the hard work behind the scenes. We watch the highlights on Sports Center, but no one ever airs the hours and hours of practice on TV. The game of football is a great tool to teach this lesson. We spend hours of time practicing tiny details of the fundamentals until our body is programmed to perform those movements without thought. It is extremely rewarding to witness student athletes realize the rewards of hard work. I hope they understand that this lesson carries over to all aspects of their life.
We also teach the importance of communication. When seventh grade football players report to the first day of practice, they have very poor communication skills. They are quiet. They are shy. They are scared. And, many refuse to make eye contact. We spend a good portion of our time as coaches teaching these athletes the importance of communication. We also train them to utilize effective communication skills. We ask them to speak up. We demand them to look us in the eyes. We force them to grow up. You see, in football, communication is essential. On each and every play, it is imperative to have all eleven players on the same page. Football players need to be loud, and they need to be confident. Believe it or not, but most of our players aren’t born this way. Someone needs to teach them this life lesson, and I am excited that often it is me who gets to instill this important life skill.
Sometimes life can be so simple; other times life can be extremely complicated. Amazingly, football is the same way. In many ways football is a simple game. On each play you line up opposite of an opponent, and on each play you compete to determine who is faster, stronger, or smarter. It’s a simple concept. We teach very simple fundamental skills that anyone can learn. We teach players to start in a good stance. We teach players to stay low. We teach players how to keep their balance and use good footwork. We teach players how to use their hands to gain leverage. None of those skills are hard or complicated. Yet, just like life, the game of football can become complicated. There are twenty-two different positions, each with a different responsibility. There are schemes, and game plans, and unexpected surprises. Sometimes things go wrong, and you are faced with adversity. As middle school football coaches, we constantly strive to teach our players to dig deep and overcome adversity. We work very hard to ensure our players understand that when things get tough, we get tougher, we try harder, and work smarter, but we NEVER GIVE UP. Because things may get complicated, but football is a beautiful game, and it is very simple. I hope my athletes know that I’m not really talking about football. I hope they realize that I am actually talking about life.
Another hard lesson I try to teach to my young middle school football players is to be tough. In football, you are constantly bumped, bruised, and beat-up. There are very few days where you feel “100%.” Many times my football players come to me before practice and tell me they can’t go to practice because they are injured. It is my job as a middle school football coach to talk with them and find out what’s wrong. In almost every case, I have to ask this young athlete to be tough. I need to explain the difference between being hurt and being injured. I work to explain that football players are almost always hurt, but we need to be tough and go to work anyway. From coaching middle school football, I have found that toughness is an attribute which can often be taught. I wish someone would have taught a few of my co-workers some toughness. We all know a few people in our lives that lack toughness. All of us also know some extremely tough individuals who have overcome great obstacles, and they still show up for work. I hope my football players can grow up to be like my tough friends. It takes a great character to show up to work every day even when you are banged-up, bruised, and hurt.
Football is a game which was invented by the United States military to train troops in the art and strategy of war. I wonder if the genius who invented the game of football purposely built so many life lessons in to one game. I take my role as a coach very seriously because I know the role coaches played in my life. I was fortunate to pick up on many life lessons by playing games as a young teenager. Coaches played a great role in shaping my future as an adult. I hope that I can have the same influence on my players. I know that I continue to learn a great deal from these fine young athletes.
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