Listen, hustle, have fun.

In my town, we have a pee-wee football league that starts with full pads, and full contact, in first grade. I will be honest, two years ago when I decided to coach, I was a little skeptical. The first thing that came to my mind was the nature of the game and how I didn’t want any kids (especially mine) getting hurt. Playing football myself all the way through high school, I knew how demanding the sport could be physically and mentally. How could six, seven, or eight-year-olds be prepared for that at such a young age? I fully realized that it would be a far cry from upper-level football and getting kids to line up for plays correctly let alone doing anything else would be a big victory. Regardless, what I ultimately found is that the pros far outweighed the cons.

Football, like many other team sports, is a foundational piece to the growth, development, and leadership of our nation’s youth. I believe that with every fiber of my soul. You learn the many aspects of teamwork, resilience under stress, attitude dictating involvement, learning from failure, and accountability to others. It promotes pride and self-confidence at an early age and helps the kids build an extended family. The social, emotional, mental, and physical benefits far outweigh any potential minimal risk of injury during play. The kids I coach aren’t big enough or strong enough to pose significant risks when making contact, and we are able to teach them proper technique before they get to that point as they get older. Let’s be honest, half of the kiddos had a hard time holding up their shoulder pads and helmets let alone making big hits.

With kiddos that young, we focused on proper technique, foundational knowledge of the game, and pride in yourself, and your team. We had three simple rules that we lived by this season and would remind the kids of those daily. Those rules were…

Listen- Listen to your coaches, referees, and parents.

Hustle- Hustle everywhere you go once you put on those pads.

Have Fun- Have fun every day, because football is fun and we wouldn’t be doing it otherwise.

It is amazing the transformational change that you see in the kids over the course of two months. It looked different for each kid. Some had more apparent change than others, but every single one of them learned something that they will be able to build upon in the future.

As we grow, life becomes more complicated. With more responsibility comes complex issues when it comes to employment, relationships, finances, faith, self-doubt, death, and the list goes on. Our overcomplicated lives breed overcomplicated solutions and before you know it, at times, it feels like you are drowning. I think a lot can be learned from our team of first and second-graders this season, and the rules they lived by on the football field.

Listen- Sometimes we find ourselves so busy that we neglect to take a step back and listen. Listen to ourselves, and how we are doing physically and emotionally. Listen to others who can give us advice, insight, and support. Listen with the intent of learning something and stepping out of our narrow worldview. Through knowledge comes growth every time.

Hustle- There is a time and place for rest. We all need to find a balance. But when you put that helmet on at work as a professional, at home as a spouse or a parent, or in your community as a civil servant, you need to give it 100% all the time. Opportunities do not come to those who walk to and from the line of scrimmage.

Have fun- Life can be hard. It can drain you. At the end of the day, it’s the only one you have. If you take it too seriously you miss the point. We were put on this earth to enjoy the time we are given, I guarantee at some point you will regret not having fun and tapping into your inner child more often.

Take it from some pee-wee football players. In a life full of complications, keeping it simple will lead to transformational change 100% of the time.