By Andrew Malekoff
In recent years I have
written about concussions in youth sports in this space, with a special focus
on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE),
a progressive degenerative disease of the brain that is the result of
repetitive brain trauma. This was something I knew nothing about in my teenaged
years. As a high school and college football player in the 1960s and ’70s,
using one’s head as a battering ram and shock absorber was expected.
Beyond the discovery of CTE and
what it has generated in the way of much-improved player safety, August never
fails to evoke memories of twice-daily summer practices when guys like me went
to “training camp” before school started. Training camp lasted about two weeks.
It was usually hot out. They were two weeks that felt like a year. Those were
the make or break days of my youth. No one was cut from the team as long as
they showed up, but many did not last.
The rawest depiction of a
brutal summer football camp can be found in the book The Junction Boys by Jim Dent. The subtitle of the book is: How Ten Days in Hell with Bear Bryant Forged
a Championship Team. Although I never went through anything quite like the
Junction Boys did, it seems that all high school and college football players
have similar war stories about summer camp.
I’m not about to rehash what
I’ve since learned since the discovery of CTE and the need for protective
measures or share stories from my summer football camp days. However, at the
risk of being cliché, there are some important lessons I learned from playing football.
As we round out another
August, I thought I’d share a few of those lessons here. Most have served me
well. Some have a downside. Here goes:
1.
Punctuality.
As the saying goes, showing up is half the battle. But don’t just show up; be
there on time. In football there were serious consequences for being late, but
losing the respect of one’s peers eclipsed them all.
2.
Hard work.
Know that when you are working hard, there are others working just as hard and
others who are not. Push yourself to surpass your opponents and inspire your
teammates.
3.
Stoicism.
Keep your head up. Push through disappointment and injuries. This is mostly a
good trait, but it can also prevent you from seeking the support you need when
you really need it, physically and emotionally.
Vulnerability is not a lesson I learned in football.
4.
Dependability.
It is essential that others who are pulling with you toward accomplishing a
goal know that they can always count on you. There is a brotherhood that forms
on a football team that demands dependability.
5.
Humility.
Enjoy success but don’t be boastful. Have gratitude for all those who helped to
support your success.
6.
Perseverance.
Never give up. It is what your adversaries expect. By pushing through missteps
and setbacks you learn what it takes to succeed and that your capacity to
overcome failure is greater than you anticipated.
7.
Resilience.
As the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers Vince Lombardi said, “It’s not
whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” To survive playing
football, resilience is essential.
Fortunately, these lessons can be learned in many
places other than the football field. Any group activity that requires
teamwork, sacrifice and shared goals generate important life lessons. Make sure
the young people in your life put down their cellphones and other tech gadgets
and take up a sport, join a club or get involved in the arts, to name a few
possibilities.
They’ll grow into better people—and with no
head-butting required.
Andrew Malekoff is the Executive Director of North
Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental
health services for children from birth through 24 and their families. To find
out more, visit www.northshorechildguidance.org.
Published in Long Island Weekly, an Anton Weekly publicaton, August 27, 2018 - https://longislandweekly.com/lessons-from-the-field/
