Tag: flag football

Find the things that make you feel alive.

My son Magnus is 10 years old and loves football. I have been coaching his flag football team for the past 3 years. It is our favorite thing to do together. And our best bonding time.

This fall I was looking forward to another season of coaching with my fellow University of Wisconsin alumni Dr. Michael Brin and Josh Hunt, both of whom played football for the Badgers. Their sons Josh and Hudson are both great kids, great athletes, and we have had a really good team together. But by late summer we heard that the flag football program was cancelled. Boo.

Me, Mike, Josh and our boys, with pre-covid splits. Hudson is doing his funhouse mirror impression.

When we learned the flag had been pulled off the flag football season I contacted our local tackle football program. The league starts in 5th grade. But roster space permitting, they will also accept a few 4th graders if they meet the size requirement. Magnus is a sizable boy (a sizable boy they all say) and has met the 5th grade size requirement since 2nd or 3rd grade.

When the tackle program was green lighted, there was room for Magnus. So this fall, instead of playing flag football, video-game football or paper triangle football, he has been training in full cleats, helmet, mouthguard, shoulder pads and boy part protector.

Yesterday Magnus had his only scrimmage of the season. His 5th grade team played the program’s 6th graders. Which meant that Magnus, my 4th grader had his first full-contact tackle football experience against kids 2 years older than him. Because sometimes life just works out that way.

The highlight of the experience occurred as Magnus was playing defensive end. A 6th grade ball carrier broke past the line of scrimmage and began running down the field. Magnus turned in hot pursuit as if the kid had stolen his lunch money. Magnus caught up to the running back, leapt, landed on the 6th grader and brought him decisively to the ground. My friend Matt Joynt, who was standing a social distance from me said, ‘That looked like a lion jumping off a rock onto a gazelle.’

I instantly cheered my little 4th grader’s first-ever tackle. As did my wife Dawn and daughter Ava. It was an exciting moment for our family. And for a kid who just weeks earlier looked as if he would have a football-free fall.

After the scrimmage, when Magnus rejoined us, I asked him about his tackle. A broad smile lit up his face as he replied, “It was so awesome! I still feel like I have rainbows in my stomach!’

Key Takeaway

Life is short. Pursuit your interests, curiosities and passions like a lion chases a gazelle. Find the experiences that fill your stomach with rainbows. Pack your life with joy and fulfillment. We only get one chance to play this game. Between the opening whistle and the final tick of the clock, I hope you are flooded with positive feelings that are beyond your ability to articulate. That’s how you win this game.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

How to be a more valuable volunteer.

There is a simple truth about value. It is directly related to contribution. To increase your value you have to increase your contribution. Which means if you want to earn more money, have more friends or increase your influence you have to contribute more. If you don’t contribute your time, talent or treasure to others you have no value to them. And there are nothing but zeros on your reality check.

Tackle Football

My son Johann is in 6th grade and began his first year of tackle football this fall. When your children commit to a fun activity like sports, scouting or full-contact charades, the parents commit to the less fun activities that come with it. Like fundraising, Saturdays in the rain, and required volunteer work. #oxymoron

Volunteering

Typically when we look at the list of volunteer opportunities we seek out the easiest one. We try to take the path of least resistance before anyone else beats us to it. But this fall I decided to take a different approach. I sought out Johann’s head coach after a preseason practice and asked him a simple question:

What job is the hardest to find volunteers to do?

Instead of looking for the easiest and most convenient job, I wanted to provide the greatest value to the coach, the program and the other parents. The volunteer coaches are already contributing more to the program than I ever could. The least I could do was make the unrewarding job of asking for volunteers a little easier by taking the least desirable task off the volunteer board.

The game day volunteer opportunities included:

  • Video taping the games  (Although there is no tape involved)
  • Running the scoreboard (Although neither the scoreboard nor the operator do any actual running)
  • Announcer  (You get to tell everyone you have no idea what you are talking about.)
  • Chain Gang#1  (Also known as the Chrissie Hynde role)
  • Chain Gang#2  (Electric Boogaloo)
  • Chain Gang #3 (Which is never as good as the original)
  • Pre-Concession (You do this before you concede)
  • Post- Concession  (You try to sell people posts)

The Answer

I really had no idea which role the coach would say was the most challenging. But I was prepared for the worst. The coach immediately responded, ‘Announcer is always the hardest.’

I immediately volunteered to announce the games. And with that offer I gave him one less thing to worry about. I could see both the relief and the appreciation on his face. And I knew this would not be the last time I used the path-of-most-resistance technique to determine my volunteer activities.

Key Takeaway

Your success in life is directly related to your contribution. So step up and contribute where it is most valued. Take the hard roles to fill, not the easiest or most convenient. Seek more responsibility, not less. Give others less to worry about and more to enjoy. Become someone others can count on. It pays off in rewards too numerous to count.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this story, please share it with them.