Football is unique in the sense that it truly is the epitome of a team sport. It has been said time and again that America's favorite sport instills in youth players the values of leadership, responsibility and teamwork. In order to be successful, it takes all 11 players on the field to handle their respective assignments - which is something that NFL wideouts David Anderson, DeSean Jackson and Antwaan Randle El certainly do not take for granted.
"It's amazing what life lessons you actually learn from youth sports and winning and losing," said Anderson's mother, Katie, a member of the Professional Football Players Mothers Association (PFPMA). "You may be the best player on the field, but you can still lose. Even in the real world, you know that your job is dependent on what happened before you, so you're a piece of the puzzle. When you're on a team, it isn't all about you."
Anderson, now a wide receiver for the Houston Texans out of Colorado State, didn't really get a taste for what football was all about until high school, however. He played a year of youth football at the age of 11, and even though he had a strong passion for the game, his mother said it wasn't a sport that he naturally excelled in his first season.
On the other hand, Jackson and Randle El both hit the turf much sooner - at ages 5 and 8, respectively. Jackson's mother, Gayle, even said if it weren't for football, her son wouldn't be who he is today.
"Football was important for my son in just about every way, really," said Gayle, also a PFPMA member. "He learned so much about respecting others, being positive and building character."
Playing sports in his younger years also allowed Jackson, an offensive threat for the Philadelphia Eagles who has racked up 354 yards and two TDs through five games this season, to maintain an active lifestyle within a supportive environment throughout his childhood.
"Football was a way to channel his positive energy," Gayle said. "DeSean has a lot of male role models in his life - his father and brothers - and they realized that sports would help. By participating in sports, it gave him the confidence that he needed because he got some positive reinforcement."
Randle El and his brothers, Curtis Jr. and Marcus, played for the Harvey Colts, which is a well-known Pop Warner league in Illinois. Having been a student of the game for many years, Randle El, who now lines up for the Washington Redskins after an impressive career at Indiana University, learned more than just what was in the playbook.
"He learned how to conduct himself on the field and off the field," said Joacquline, Randle El's mother and East Regional Coordinator for the PFPMA. "What he got out of football is responsibility and the drive to win. It really instilled a lot of that in him at an early age so that foundation was there to be a man of his word even with his teammates.
"It taught him to be competitive and that has carried him along even now, taking on large challenges and getting them completed and trying to be the best at what he does."
Getting her sons involved with sports seemed like a no-brainer for Joacquline, and looking back, she knows the success her sons have seen is because of the many different influences in their lives.
"I wanted them to be role models, cornerstones in communities and be raised to be a good father and also a good husband," she said. "My husband and I working together as a team to instill that in them when they were younger helped get them to where they are today. It takes a village to raise a child, and that's very true. Success only comes with hard work - quitters don't win, and winners don't quit."
But despite all the positives that sports can provide for a young athlete, Katie saw from the many years that Anderson played on different teams how the experience could be made even better.
"It's just not the same if parents aren't involved - it leaves a hole in their heart," she said. "Whatever good their child is getting out of sports, things would be so much better if they were there to applaud their child. Parents need to be there during the good and bad times - children need to know that you will hug and congratulate them in celebration of a win or comfort them for a loss."
It's this type of family support that allowed Jackson to excel at something that he is really passionate about and has provided him with countless opportunities. A standout at Long Beach (Calif.) Polytechnic High School, he was excited about the chance to perform in front of so many fans one day - one of whom always included his mother.
"You just need to love your son and be there for your son," Gayle said. "We were able to keep DeSean away from bad influences by playing sports and he was able to travel and get out and see how other people live and do things.
"Football has taught him to not be self-centered, how to consider other people's emotions and feelings, and how to work together - all the things that you need in this world."
