What NFL Players Could Learn from a 9 Year Old

The game is over and on this day, our team lost. The coach gathers the players around and tells them, "Hold your heads up high! You are football players! You have no reason to hang your head, you gave it your all! Come on now, all hands on deck..." And thus begins the chant, said with reverence, said with sincerity and said with pride.

I am a Football Player
We are a Football Team
I work hard everyday
To Improve
As I Improve
My Team Improves
I am proud of myself
My Teammates
My Parents
and My coaches
I am a Football Player
We are a Football Team
We are the Miamisburg Wee Vikes.

That's right, on this day, the football team is made up of 17 4th graders. 17 kids who have learned what it means to be A FOOTBALL PLAYER. Being a Football Player is being part of a team. Being a Football Player means working hard not for your own glory, but for the betterment of your TEAM. Being a Football Player means not only giving your best when you're on the field, but all the time. These 17 kids know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if they get in trouble at home or at school, they'll be spending some "quality time" with Coach doing some push ups and leg lifts. YOU ARE A FOOTBALL PLAYER.

There is no "I" in team. So if Coach asks you to play a position that you've never played before, the answer is, "Yes Coach". When the Coach says RUN - you RUN. Being a Football Player means being a Leader. Period. There is no "time off" when you're a Football Player. If one of our kids is acting like a fool in Baseball and his Football Coach hears about it, that child WILL receive a phone call. YOU ARE A FOOTBALL PLAYER.

Bad attitudes are not tolerated. Whining, yelling, screaming - those are not acceptable for a Football Player. Swearing, Cheating, Stealing - those are not acceptable for a Football Player. Backtalk, Fighting, Crime - those are not acceptable for a Football Player. There is no, "But I'm still a KID..." YOU ARE A FOOTBALL PLAYER, you made a choice to play.

These 17 kids know what good sportsmanship is about. If someone is hurt, you take a knee. If you knock someone down, you help them back up. At the end of a game, you shake hands. There is no name calling on the field. There is no losing your temper. YOU ARE A FOOTBALL PLAYER. To these kids, that means something.

None of these kids is paid for their time on the field. They play the game because they LOVE the game. They give their all because that's what Football Players do. Luckily, there are still some Pro Football Players that can be used as examples, in our house, names like Jerome Bettis, Troy Polamolu, Hines Ward and even Chad Johnson carry a lot of weight. Unfortunately, our kids are also all too familiar with Mike Vick, Pacman Jones, Chris Henry and T.O. How do we explain to our kids that the same rules that apply to them aren't adhered to by the "big guys"? We shouldn't have to.

The NFL is trying to restore their reputation as a classy organization. Roger Goodell is cracking down on offenders. Perhaps it's time to get back to the basics of what it means to be a Football Player. Perhaps if each practice and each game ended with the Football Player Chant, it would remind the Pro's what it means to be a Football Player.

Many NFL Football Players have their own "football camps" for local kids. Perhaps it should be the other way around. Come on over to our house, let our kids show you what it means to say, "I AM A FOOTBALL PLAYER"