I started playing when I was nine years old, and football got me through difficult periods. It helps make me who I am today.
My story with football started when I joined a league (联赛). I didn't want to be there at first. I was naturally weak and small. I was scared when I met my coach, Jim Graham, a huge and strong guy. And he was really strict. Coach Graham used to push me hard. He often said, "You're doing it all wrong, Pausch. Go back! Do it again!" I tried to do what he wanted. But it wasn't enough. "When the practice was over, one of the assistant coaches talked to me, "Coach Graham pushed you pretty hard. That's a good thing. When you're doing badly and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you. "
That conversation has been with mc closely my whole life. When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's willing to tell yon anymore, that's a bad place to be. You may not want to hear it, but those who always push you hard in your life are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better.
There's a lot of talk these days about giving children self - respect. It's not something you can give; it's something they have to build. Coach Graham knew there was really only, one way to teach kids how to make it stronger: You give them something they can't do; they work hard until they find they can do it, and you just keep repeating.
Coach Graham made me realize that if I work hard enough, there will be things I can do tomorrow that I can't do today. I really felt thankful to him for what he had done to me.
