[June 19, 2019] My son played on the local High School football team and found that the team played with a style that earned them a nickname; the scrappers. American High School football is a favorite of mine, and it was great to see so many games. I loved the fact that the small-town team played with their heart, but not so much with an effective strategy.
Blue and Gold were their colors (as you can see in the thumbnail to this article) and were called the Hurricanes. I assume the hurricane team name came from a history of rough and tumble football play. These young boys were tough, playing hard and keeping to simple plays that made it easy to follow their style. Each game was a toss-up win or lose, regardless of the opponent.
I would often stand in the end zone area to great the team after another hard-fought game. If they won, they were jubilant but respectful to the other team; lots of glad-handing, high fives, and whoops of joy. In a loss, their heads would hang low, and they would walk the gate of someone who had just lost everything of importance.
Often, I look back on those games; now almost 20 years ago, with fondness and time that heals and fades the game losses. Their playing season rarely resulted in a championship. If they finished better than 50-50 win/loss, most of us were happy.
What the team had was plenty of motivation. They also had unexpected leadership. It was up to the players themselves (without the football coach’s input) to call all the plays. This resulted in an unpredictable offense and defense. Opposing teams had trouble reading them before a play could get off, and movement began.
Their unexpected leadership (from the players and not the coach) was a thrill to watch. Long-gone are those days. We were all much younger and stronger. Those players have mostly taken jobs locally. A small number, like my son, went to college. They all settle down, married, and had children of their own.
Unexpected leadership is out there just waiting to happen. Be ready for your opportunity to lead!
Motivation! Yesterday I was talking to a High School teacher about how students have changed over the past 25 years. Our conversation drifted back and forth on whether the failure of our American kids was the result of government interference, parenting, or teaching. No solution, of course. But we did agree that parents were a big part of the problem.
Yes! Parents are DE-motivating there kids to perform well in school.
Good morning all (in the America’s time zones). Really nice to see so many fans of this leadership website. It’s becoming one of those ‘go to places’ where you find consistent and thoughtful analysis.
Easy reading today but harder thinking. Liked the story and blog flow. Well done. ?
Yes. I too like coming to Gen. Satterfield’s blog almost daily. It gives me a new perspective and an education on top of a little entertainment.
I like your dog moniker!
I might suggest that we are looking at this all wrong. Leadership is everywhere. Leadership is everybody’s responsibility and thus it is pervasive. There is no special cutoff point or inflection area. Leadership is thus, by definition, not to be unexpected because it is always there. The issue at hand is whether leadership is sufficient to resolve the problem at the moment.
Good day Mates. I’m happy to be on your comment’s section and reading such educated analyses. Cheers!
You make me laugh, Joe. Of course, we’re glad you’re here with us.
Loved your article, keep them coming to us daily.
I’ve seen this often in small towns where the local coach is dearly loved and the players are held in high regard by the townsfolk. The coach may not be the best technically but make up for it in leadership.
Well said, Max. I think the average person studying small-town football (or any other team sport) would see the linkage here as you and Gen. Satterfield pointed out.
Yes, an often overlooked concept.
They wore their team spirit on their jerseys. Fine storytelling.
Good story to support an important idea. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Thanks Mike. I agree with you on this.
I agree, thanks Mike.