There is nothing more prized, to a son, than to have a deep bond with his father. I know this firsthand.
So, when I attended the Special Olympics Minnesota State Flag Football Tournament this past Saturday, one particular duo stood out above the rest, especially when crunch time hit in their final game of the day.
The Burnsville Blast Onyx were down by 10 with just a couple of minutes remaining, and one player continued to jump out to me as I watched. If I had to give him a comparison, that's easy: Mike Alstott.
The man I would come to know, as Max, was his team's secret weapon. He'd catch a short pass and, before you knew it, he'd be off to the races. It seemed like every other time his team scored, it was Max holding the ball in the end zone after the fact.
Back to the game at hand. After Max's team had gone down and scored, there was just over a minute remaining and they needed a stop.
Believe it or not, they got it.
Now, the pressure was on. As Max's team trotted the offense out there, they would march all the way down the field, needing a score to win it. Before you knew it, there were only a handful of seconds left on the clock with a goal-to-go situation, just five yards out.
This was it.
Max's quarterback dropped back to pass, delivered the ball right to him, and ... he caught it!
Thinking they had won the game, the officials came to point out that Max's flag had fallen off before he caught the ball -- by no fault of anyone, really. But, rules are rules, and in heartbreaking fashion, what would have been an incredible comeback win quickly turned into a moment of defeat.
The importance of teaching resiliency
In the immediate moments following their loss, Max and his team had to figure out how to stay positive. What I saw next, though, was a coach doing what he could to lift their spirits -- Max's dad, Erich.
Yes, it was a father-son duo leading the charge of this Burnsville team, and as a father myself, I know there may be no moment more difficult than having to console your own child after a tough moment in life.
But, Erich did a great job doing so, and after the game, they were both even gracious enough to sit down and chat with me a little bit. I had to start by asking Max about that final play, making sure I told him that, in my book, that touchdown counted.
"At that last second, I didn't think I was going to catch it," he told me. "But, it happened!"
The sincere surprise and humility from Max was oozing out of that answer, but it quickly turned back to that of a competitive nature:
"But, I still knew that might have cost us the game."
Indeed, if we were going strictly matter-of-fact, that play did cost the game. But, the flag mishap still didn't diminish what I saw out on that field. Max loves football. He loves the game. He gives it 100 percent out there and plays with passion. He wants to have fun, but he wants to win!
And who could blame him?
I had to ask him what he's thinking in those moments after catching the ball (which happened very often on this day).
"When I catch the ball, I think nothing but to turn and run to the other side as fast as possible."
Max thought his sports journey might have been over if not for Special Olympics
This is Max's third year in flag football, but his journey to Special Olympics didn't begin recently.
In high school, he played soccer in the fall, floor hockey in the winter and softball in the spring. He was a year-round athlete. But, as a senior, things would take a dramatic turn. In his final year of high school, the pandemic hit and cut his sports season short. Just like that, high school sports were over.
Max still wanted to be involved somehow, though, and volunteered at tournaments to try and help any way he could, once the world slowly returned back to normal. Watching these tournaments and volunteering didn't scratch the itch he still had inside, however.
He remembers telling his friends he wished he could keep playing, saying he felt like he "had more in the tank."
When his friends mentioned Special Olympics, that's when he knew he had the chance he had been waiting for. Now, he gets the opportunity to play multiple sports just like he was used to in high school. To be exact, Max plays a total of nine sports!
He acknowledged his favorites, above the rest, are flag football and floor hockey.
When he isn't playing sports, though, he's walking around listening to music and soaking in the scenery around him.
But, it's abundantly clear that Special Olympics and sports, in general, are an overwhelmingly-large part of his life. Asking him what the Special Olympics meant to him, Max had this to say:
"People who have different abilities, coming together, and no one's fighting over who's better. We just challenge ourselves, break limits of ourselves ... and always have fun."
The tail end part of that answer was with an assist from dad, ensuring he remembered what his son always tell hiim.
Have fun.
That's what was most noticeable about Erich's team. They had fun. They remained positive and lifted each other up. They cheered on teammates after each and every play. Speaking of plays, Erich also let me in on a little fact that left me quite impressed:
"We have arm bands for all of our plays. But basically, I just say, 'go have fun!' They're the ones calling [the plays]."
For some squads are the tournaments, some coaches would call plays. Some Unified Partners would call plays. But, Erich left it all up to his team.
To him, this is all about his players, which became even more evident when I asked Erich what the most rewarding part of being a coach was.
"Watching them light up," he said.
The world would be a better place if we had more people like Max
Erich finds some of the best moments is when he gets to watch his players, especially his own son, celebrate a good play. The two of them have their own special celebration, too — "Mean Machine" (see above).
"You just see them grow ... watching Max grow, it's just incredible. This year was just amazing," Erich went on.
Before our time was up, I wanted to ask Erich and Max a couple more questions, essentially getting their overarching thoughts on Special Olympics and Unified Sports in general — where athletes with and without intellectual disabilities compete side by side.
"Special Olympics is all about inclusion and has been from the beginning," Erich started. "Getting different abilities all around, and go forward as a team, it's just fun to watch them grow."
This team has themselves a special coach. Erich is all about seeing his athletes grow, and that's inspiring.
As for Max?
I had one more question for Max when all was said and done, and it was simple: what does he want the world to know and remember about him?
"What I want the world to know is, I'm a hard worker, I care and I put myself on the line if I'm needed."
I think it's safe to say we can all afford to be a little bit more like Max.
Why We Play features stories about the power of sports to bring us together, overcome obstacles, make positive change and reach everyone. Read more here.
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