Excerpt: “Sideline to Bedside”

On Friday nights, one trail of curiosity led to the football field.  There, we were presented with one of countless “You mean, I can grow up to do that someday?” lessons.  At halftime, I stood on the hill to watch them run in and out of the warming house of the outdoor skating rink, which also served as the football locker room. White pants with maroon-and-gold stripes.  Maroon jerseys with gold, embroidered numbers. Jersey numbers stickered on the sides of the helmets, just like that team down in Alabama. It looked like fun. Would I ever become big enough—good enough—to wear one of those uniforms? 

67 Seconds / It Persists

“The one thing I want to say is that in 30 years, I probably won’t remember all these memories we shared tonight, but I can say that I truly feel like you will never forget the way a person—or a group of people—made you feel at a certain time in your life. Even if I don’t remember getting pudding at St. Thomas in 30 years, I will always remember how my team treated me when I went through one of the hardest times in my life.”

“I just…I love you guys so much.”

Every Day is Game Day: “Community Service” Excerpt

In the early years of implementing the FAMILY concept, Coach Nelson decided to rally his athletes around the nobility of helping families move from one home to another. What was the deep-seated motivation for choosing that option? Honestly, I never asked him. It didn’t seem like a big deal.

Fifteen months after writing my first sentence, I made one final phone call. During that call, the pathway for Dot A to connect with Dot B, then Dot C became clear. I didn’t know I was missing a piece of the FAMILY puzzle. I accidentally found it. Everything finally made sense.

You’ll understand later in this story.