Working with athletes is a wonderful and rewarding experience. Much of the wisdom and the many of the lessons learned have come from working with kids.
In addition, no matter how old the athletes participating get there’s always a little bit of a kid in all of them.
Saturday at the Tennessee Volunteers Media Day, I talked with many of the orange-clad football gladiators that millions across the state cheer for each game in the fall.
The Tennessee football players are often worshipped, praised, scrutinized, and at times cussed by their fans and opponents' fans.
Nevertheless, Saturday I watched as some of the gladiators let their guard down and showed there’s a little boy in each and every one of them.
While coaching kids to catch a baseball, or make a block or tackle in football the rewards are often obvious for the coaches.
But in the media business, you're not there in their dorms, dens and bedrooms when they pick up one of your stories and read it.
When my wife Deb gave Arian Foster a copy of the 2008 Tennessee Football magazine at Media Day I got to see his reaction as he thumbed through the pages and smiled at pictures of him and words praising his abilities.
Foster told redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Coleman he wanted a copy of the picture of him flexing to show off his King Tut tattoo in the magazine to put on his wall.
Moments later, she handed super sophomore Eric Berry a magazine with his picture featured on the cover.
As the day came to an end and the players exited to head off to lunch Berry was sitting backwards on the back of a gator riding up the hill still looking through the Tennessee Football magazine.
At that point, it was clear that even a managing editor of an annual football magazine and those who toiled to make the 2008 edition possible could make a difference too.
To see a pair of football players who will likely one day make millions as National Football League stars smile as if their third grade teacher had just given them a star sticker was worth it all.
For those short moments, Foster and Berry were humble and appreciative young men saying thank you.
I would like to take this space to say thank you to them and all of the players who are a part of the Tennessee Football magazine.
These old eyes see things now in a different perspective.
_ Stump Martin
In addition, no matter how old the athletes participating get there’s always a little bit of a kid in all of them.
Saturday at the Tennessee Volunteers Media Day, I talked with many of the orange-clad football gladiators that millions across the state cheer for each game in the fall.
The Tennessee football players are often worshipped, praised, scrutinized, and at times cussed by their fans and opponents' fans.
Nevertheless, Saturday I watched as some of the gladiators let their guard down and showed there’s a little boy in each and every one of them.
While coaching kids to catch a baseball, or make a block or tackle in football the rewards are often obvious for the coaches.
But in the media business, you're not there in their dorms, dens and bedrooms when they pick up one of your stories and read it.
When my wife Deb gave Arian Foster a copy of the 2008 Tennessee Football magazine at Media Day I got to see his reaction as he thumbed through the pages and smiled at pictures of him and words praising his abilities.
Foster told redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Coleman he wanted a copy of the picture of him flexing to show off his King Tut tattoo in the magazine to put on his wall.
Moments later, she handed super sophomore Eric Berry a magazine with his picture featured on the cover.
As the day came to an end and the players exited to head off to lunch Berry was sitting backwards on the back of a gator riding up the hill still looking through the Tennessee Football magazine.
At that point, it was clear that even a managing editor of an annual football magazine and those who toiled to make the 2008 edition possible could make a difference too.
To see a pair of football players who will likely one day make millions as National Football League stars smile as if their third grade teacher had just given them a star sticker was worth it all.
For those short moments, Foster and Berry were humble and appreciative young men saying thank you.
I would like to take this space to say thank you to them and all of the players who are a part of the Tennessee Football magazine.
These old eyes see things now in a different perspective.
_ Stump Martin
No comments:
Post a Comment