Bob was a super athlete. In grade school he played on the midget football team. During junior high he was first - team fullback. Then came high school and things were different. Here's the story Bob told us.

"All my life I wanted to play football. When I was little my dad and I used the living room for a field and we played every night when he came home from work.
We used a little sponge as the ball and had to be really careful of the lamps and furniture. my mom never did like the idea.

"At supper, I remember my dad always said, 'Bob, you've got to eat up so you get big and strong like daddy.'
To me, he was a real gaint. I was pretty small for my age, but he always told me if i kept eating I'd be as big as him someday. So, I kept eating.
"When I was ten, I joined the midget football team. It was great! We practiced every day for two hours. The rest of the day I ran through the house (with my football) yelling 'Green...42,ready...hut,hut,hut.
Mom got me a babysitter.

"Then came junior high. Each year i made first-team fullback for my grade. I loved it and my dad came to all the games. I was still pretty small. In fact, the smallest on the team.
"When I reached high school everything changed.
The first time I went to the locker room to get fitted for my uniform, six seniors stole my jeans and hung them on a ceiling light. I was too small to get them down and too embarrassed to ask for help.
"Luckily, the coach walked by and helped me out.
"After a few weeks of practice I found out why they call football a contact sport. The coach had all the tenth graders hold dummies as the varsity players practiced blocking. I didn't understand what was about to happen. I learned fast. (In football, a dummy is a large cushioned pad held up as a pretend player from the other team. The blocker is supposed to hit this pad, push it back, and "make room" for a runner.)
"A big 260 - pound senior came charging toward me.
I weighed 125. He was grunting and making some really funny faces. I was about to laugh when he lowered his head and came trampling over me. When I opened my eyes and saw several people looking down at me, I realized I had been carried to the locker room, unconscious. The coach kept putting this terrible smelling stuff under my nose until I finally put my head up and said I'm okay.' But I felt totally worthless."

Have you had times when you've felt really embarrassed? Worthless? What was your "comeback'? Did you quit or keep on trying? What would you do if it happened again?

Today Bob is a senior. He's first-team fullback for his school and weighs 180.
"At first I felt like quitting. But the more I thought about it, I realized I'd only be hurting myself. And I would be setting a pattern for my future of quitting every time I got embarrassed of hurt."
Not quitting doesn't come easy, that's for sure. But if you realize (as Bod did)that you are setting a life pattern
with every decision you make, you may find it easier to keep trying. One of the greatest lessons in life is to keep trying. Don't quit!

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