Dilly Bars + Football = Free Rides: A Mom's Lesson in Incentives

So, picture this: it’s the middle of summer, right? We’re talking peak humidity, that kind of heat that just saps your energy before you even start moving. And there I was, a high school football player, grinding through those brutal two-a-day practices. You know what I’m talking about—two sessions a day, back-to-back, no mercy. You’re running drills in the morning, pushing your body to the limit, and then you gotta come back in the afternoon and do it all over again. It’s a rite of passage.

Now, my mom, she was a social worker in the schools for over 30 years. She knew the drill. She understood teenagers, especially ones who had just spent two hours in that sweltering heat. So she came up with this genius plan. Whoever gave me a ride home after practice got a Dilly Bar. You know, those Dairy Queen ice cream bars dipped in chocolate? They’re like little bites of heaven, especially when you’re dying from heat exhaustion.

So, fast forward a couple decades. I’m back in town for my high school football coach’s induction into the Hall of Fame. We’re at this local bar, and a bunch of my old teammates are there, catching up, swapping stories. I turn to this guy I haven’t really hung out with in 25 years, and I ask him, ‘Hey, do you remember my mom giving you those Dilly Bars?’ And he just lights up, like he’s been transported back in time. ‘Heck yeah,’ he says. And then it hits me—I never really had to worry about getting a ride home.

That’s the power of incentives. My mom, she cracked the code. If you want to save on gas money, if you want to make sure your kid always has a ride home after practice, just offer up a Dilly Bar. It’s simple, but it works.

Those little things—those incentives—they stick with people. Even 25 years later, it’s the Dilly Bar they remember.

#incentives #secchi #leadership