In August of 2002, I made my great tackle football comeback.
Well, actually it wasn’t me. I signed my six-year-old son Dustin up to play youth football. Like many of the dads who dragged our kids down to the Germantown Community Center, we all missed the game and wanted to play it again, albeit vicariously through our sons.
Dustin played for the South Germantown Panthers of the Capitol Beltway League. This was one step below the hyper-competitive Pop Warner program but was still very intense. The team played in locations around the Washington DC area with kids who would one day play for Division 1 colleges and a select few, the NFL. The games were hard fought, between both the teams, and also between the beer and testosterone-fueled dads in the stands.
Honestly, my son was good, but not great. He didn’t have the size or the killer instinct many of the other boys had. I made him play the next two seasons even though he wasn’t really interested because I wanted him to learn the same life lessons I learned playing football. At the end of his third season, he wanted to quit. Then, his best friend Chris asked if he wanted to play one more season but in the Rockville Football League. He reluctantly agreed and I happily signed him up.
The Rockville League was put together by a few rich dads in the upscale parts of Montgomery County, Maryland as an alternative to the other programs. It was more relaxed but still competitive. I wondered how my son would do in this league.
I got my answer on the first day of contact drills. The first time he hit someone, you could hear the crunch all the way on the sidelines. The coaches whooped and cheered as he cracked player after player in one-on-one drills. He became one of the smartest, dedicated, and toughest players on the team and ended up playing until he started high school, where he played two more years before switching to rugby. His early years in the Beltway League made him a success in the Rockville League.
I know Dustin was unhappy and depressed playing football in those early years. Most of the time he rode the bench and he hated the dictatorial coaches and the long practice sessions. He had no way of knowing those early seasons were the foundation he needed to succeed in the Rockville League.
Are you in a situation now that seems frustrating? Are you working for a boss who doesn’t see your value or recognize your accomplishments? Do you feel like you’re not growing or succeeding? If so, maybe this is your equivalent of toiling in the Beltway League. You might not realize it, but this current situation might be preparing your for something amazing. This current hell could be the preparation you need for your next steps.
This week, think about what you’re doing to grow through this period. If better days are ahead (and I believe they are), then how will you leverage this as you prepare for your bigger moments ahead?