Recently, I was asked to speak to my son Magnus’s freshman football team the night before their last game of the season. Preparing for the talk offered an opportunity to go back in time and reflect on the feelings and thoughts I had at the end of my own freshman football season. But this time I had fewer pimples, my voice didn’t crack, and I had a much longer lens with which to view the whole experience. I wrote about the talk and what happened in The Power of Enthusiasm and Teamwork.
The major insight I gained was that my own reflection at the end of my freshman football experience created one of the most valuable experiences of my life. And it still benefits me today. (Or at least it benefitted me yesterday. It’s too early for today’s results to be tabulated.)
The Reflection On My Freshman Football Experience.
By the end of my freshman season of football at Hanover High School in Hanover, New Hampshire, I realized a few things.
First, I loved playing football.
I realized I loved the brotherhood of playing a team sport. Going into battle with a group of badass boys creates a bond. A brotherhood. An identity.
I realized we played better when we played as a team.
I realized how much practice helped. (Yes, Allen Iverson, we’re talking about practice.)
I realized that after a bad play, or a lost game, you had to learn from what you did wrong, but then put that behind you and move forward.
I learned that bringing energy to the game made a huge difference. And I run better on positive energy than negative energy.
I recognized that encouraging each other made a significant impact on our play and our relationships.
I learned that I represented my high school and my community when I wore that uniform. And I could either add to it or reduce it through my actions. (It was this 14-year-old’s first lesson in branding.)
And I realized that I needed to get stronger. There were guys who were a lot bigger and stronger than me. And while I was quick and athletic, sometimes big and strong won. And I wanted to be the bigger guy. Or at least stronger.
What Happened Next?
When my freshman football season wrapped, I was 6 feet tall and 150 pounds. The following Monday, I started lifting weights. And that simple decision, and the strong workout habit I created that year, set in motion the self-improvement journey I am still on today. (Or at least I was yesterday.)
I never got any taller. But by the start of football season my sophomore year, I weighed 170 pounds. My junior year, I weighed 190. By football season my senior year, I weighed 210 pounds. And by the time I graduated from high school, I weighed 215 pounds. I got a lot of new clothes in the process.
My first day in the weight room, I bench pressed 95 pounds. And that was really hard. But my senior year, after years of slow and steady improvement, I benched 335 pounds. It was hard to believe I was the same guy. But slow, steady actions compound in ways that are hard to imagine, unless you read the book The Tortoise And The Hare.
The Broader Impact.
My love for football and desire to get better didn’t just help me on the football field. The strength and conditioning that I did to get better at football helped me as a track and field athlete. (Which I chose because I was terrible at baseball.)
By my senior year, I broke 2 school records and a conference record, I was a state champion in both the shot put and the discus, I won the New England Championship in the discus twice, and I set a state record in the discus that stood for 12 years.
But perhaps more importantly, I grew my personal relationships with my football teammates. We became a band of brothers. (A band with no instruments or spandex.) We went to battle together. We made it to the state semi-finals together both my junior and senior years. Both years, we came within one score of the state championship game. But that journey, even with an imperfect ending, brought us closer together. And we have great stories to share every time we are together.
Then we stood up in each other’s weddings.
And we helped each other in our careers.
When I started the advertising and ideas agency, The Weaponry, my very first client was Dan Richards, one of my football teammates from my freshman year in high school, and one of my best friends in the world. (Dan is the other guy making the tackle in the cover photo for this story.) He had also used the lessons he learned through athletics to help build an amazing business called Global Rescue, which does what the name says it does.
The relationship I developed with Dan has had a huge impact on my adult life. And it all started by being a strong, supportive, reliable teammate in football. Which made us trust each other in life and in business.
Key Takeaway
Don’t miss your great opportunities. To improve yourself. To create strong bonds and friendships. To use your drive to become better at sports or other competitions. And at life. Become a winner in your mindset first. And you will be a winner on the field and off. Use the same drive to improve in sports to win in your classwork and in your career. Bring the same relationship-building approach you bring to your team, to your family, to your friendships, coworkers, children, and spouse. And you will live a life you can be proud of, that is full of wins every day.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.
Adam Albrecht Blog 