With the crispness of the early fall air, the thoughts of the boys of Malaga, Ohio turned to football. By the fourth grade most of us had received football helmets and shoulder pads. On Saturday, about a dozen or more of us converged in the church yard in the middle of town. There the two oldest boys, usually my older brother, Joe, and his best friend, Larry, would choose the sides.
Being a husky child, I was often chosen to play center or guard. We played tackle just like the big boys and we had more than our share of good players. As our skills progressed, someone suggested we take our team on the road. We found an older Malaga boy who had a pick-up truck and we headed for Jerusalem four miles away. We had an agreement with a boy from that town to get together his friends and neighbors for a contest. Most of them were about our age, fourth to the seventh grade.
The game was hard fought but the Malaga Guys were up to the challenge and won the day. The next weekend we traveled a couple miles farther to the town of Wilson. The players there were somewhat older. One guy was in high school and played organized football. We protested but there weren't enough players without him. The highlight of the game for me was when I tackled the high school boy twice. Once again the Malaga Guys won. Our skills and our confidence grew.
Soon we were ready for the boys of Beallsville, the biggest town in Northern Monroe County. We arrived at the appointed spot but our reputation had preceded us. The team they assembled was the oldest and biggest we had ever confronted. Several were already accomplished high school players. We were out of our league and the lopsided score reflected the imbalance. I felt physically and emotionally beaten and bruised. The Malaga boys also felt we were ambushed with the ringers in the Beallsville squad. This was the last of our roving football games.
We didn't know it at the time but this series of road games was a one-time event. It occurred as result of the personalities, skills, and ambition of the boys involved. There was a spontaneous leadership that Joe and Larry demonstrated. At some point, the group of boys that participated in the road game started acting like a team. We took instruction from Joe and Larry because we had confidence in them. We believed they knew what they were doing. We practiced our plays and focused on the objective of each one.
The next year when Joe and Larry were too old to play with the smaller boys, the team fragmented back into a group of boys. Joe and Larry's leadership continued when they played high school football. They were co-captains as the team earned the school's best record, 7-1-1. I believe that this team came together because we had mutual respect for one another's skills. Joe and Larry taught us and encouraged us. We, in turn, started encouraging one another. The decisions Joe and Larry made seemed to work time and time again so we believed in them as leaders. Respect, teaching, and encouragement - these three elements are necessary for any leader to build a winning team.