Starting the flag football season, returning members already knew what to expect, but the new athletes were in for a “great” surprise. Coach Clark let us know right off the bat that, yes, we were going to be practicing football, but that wasn’t the main goal. His goal was to turn us into disciplined men who could take what we learned on the field and apply it to our life beyond football.

The biggest part of building that discipline was running. Running didn’t just build our endurance; it built accountability and changed our mindset. At first, we all dreaded and hated every second of it. But for me, running eventually became something that helped me elevate myself and my abilities, it pushed me to work harder and strive to be the fastest.

The best part about all that running was that we did it together as a team. If someone was struggling, we’d cheer them on or run beside them until they finished. Because of that, we built teamwork and friendships that carried over to the field, where we worked together to dominate the competition.

That conditioning gave us more than just physical advantages, it made us mentally stronger too. Every game, we stepped onto the field knowing our opponents hadn’t worked as hard as we did. We weren’t about to let them take something we’d earned, and we definitely weren’t going to disappoint each other.

Coach Clark always said, “You’re either going to be fast or strong.” He said that because depending on where you finished in our runs, you’d have a certain number of reps of his choice waiting for you. Over time, I realized he wasn’t just talking about being physically fast or strong, he meant mentally too. It taught us that in life, you have to choose your hard. Whether you come in first or last, both paths demand effort and come with a price.