A new friend’s introduction the other day was “Hi I’m Geoff, I followed Nate in high school.”
Asked if that meant he was his “blocker” on the football field he replied, “No, I worked for the Lansing State Journal and wrote about him.”
Images of old scrapbooks stacked in the basement (that now take residency in the boys’ bedrooms) popped up.
And a thought about how he cares as much about them as he does of awards, showmanship, and mentions.
Little to not at all.
Even in the “impressing each other” phase of dating, all he gave was some mumblings of “I don’t like to boast…all-state…mom’s scrapbooks.”
The fact that it was so hard to get a hold of this collection of newspaper clippings and awards is telling.
Nate is Mr. Humble. And not the pretentious kind that humblebrags on Instagram. The type that won’t be able to even read words written about him.
He’s come around a little. Sometimes shrugging his shoulders and saying apologetically, “I’m a natural athlete” when he beats out his competition.
And he is a natural athlete, and a talented one.
But it isn’t the big thing.
The big thing is what his dad said about him on his wedding day: “Nate is an incredible athlete, but he’s an even better person.”
Nate’s like the walking billboard for those “Character, pass it on,” and “Take the time to be a dad today” ads, or the living, breathing example of, “sports don’t build character, they reveal it.”
Certifiably, his top character traits are: humility, perseverance (not shocking to those who work out with him), gratitude, honesty, and fairness. A great concoction to bring to the world!
He practices them with headstrong (some would say stubborn) commitment in all things: family, business ownership, athletics, and teaching.
He doesn’t miss a workout just because its 5am, or because he stayed up too late, or because he’s 41 years old with 3 busy kids, and a whole other career. He’s committed to doing the health he brings to others for more than a decade, making it to all the family parties, and educating by day and educating by night.
He’s the type of real life influencer his sons, students, and fellow athletes need.
Most importantly, Nate brings the blood, sweat, tears, heart and soul with quiet confidence. Motivating others to also strive to be that “great athlete [artist, mechanic, whatever]…but even better person.”