I was visiting the Collingwood AFL Club here in Australia.
Impressive facilities. Long history of success. Well resourced. Professional football team.
They had a guy whose job was to take care of the players’ boots. Clean them, repair them, dry them. He’d been there for years doing the same job — and he loved it.
I asked him: “You’ve seen some of the game’s greatest players over a long time. What have you learnt?”
He said — perhaps the most important five words you’ll ever hear about young men and sport:
“Good boys make great players.”
If you’re a parent of a boy, if you coach young men, if you aspire to be a great player - those words should be on a billboard outside your house in 50-foot high letters.
Forget talent. Forget how much they can lift in the weight room.
Help them to be good boys. They’ll become great players — and more importantly — good men.
Wayne Goldsmith
