A child sees many examples of character through the vehicle of sport. It can come from a coach, fellow teammate or even through the greatness of a professional athlete. Parents have witnessed numerous examples of their child’s athletic hero displaying character. Whether it is during actual games or on a newscast, a professional athlete’s character and game conduct is constantly visible and often imitated by young athletes.

While we believe it’s great for kids to look up to their sports heroes, it is also important that character traits are developed by parents as well. Parents are the most powerful force in a child’s world, allowing for numerous opportunities for character lessons to come into play. Oakland Raiders Linebacker Kirk Morrison credits his mother Doris for continually laying the foundation of positive character in his life.

During his early years, Kirk played baseball, soccer, football and basketball he then went to Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, (CA) where he stared as a football and a track and field athlete. Now, Morrison has emerged as one of the young bright stars of the NFL. He serves as captain of the Oakland Raiders defense and is considered one of the “quality character guys” of the NFL both on and off the field of play.

Reflecting back on raising Kirk within the world of youth sports brings back many fond memories for Mrs. Morrison, along with some advice for parents of young athletes. “I would tell them to let a coach go out there and coach,” she says calmly. “It’s really that simple.” Thinking back on her son’s former coaches, Mrs. Morrison believes her son received good instruction. “I’d say 70 percent of his coaches were good,” she says. However, “Regardless of how good they were, I supported every coach he had 100 percent. It’s very important to show respect. That is how kids learn to respect authority.”

Mrs. Morrison recalled a high school baseball coach that Kirk played for who employed a unique set of rules. The coach would not allow parents near the practice field; anyone watching practice would have to do so behind a fence some distance from the field of play.

“I thought that was so great,” she says. “When you get to that age things change a bit. Sports become more serious and most of the time parents are no longer the coach. You may come to find that the position your child has played all his or her life might not be the position they are best suited to play anymore in the opinion of the coach. That can be a big wake up call for some parents.”

Doris Morrison made it a point to follow his sports development closely as a child. “I played a major role in his youth by supervising everything he did on the field,” she explains. “I was always there to support him and keep an eye on everything, but never close enough to the action to be considered a disruption.”

As she reminisces back on the hundreds of days she spent on fields of play watching her son enjoy the wonders of sport, she can’t help but smile. She is extremely proud that she was able to share in nearly all of her son’s successes and failures along the way. “Sports taught him many things,” she says, happily. “Most of all, it taught him great organization skills and how to be responsible. When you’re on a team, you have responsibilities and expectations to meet. The character traits he learned as a young athlete are serving him well today in the NFL.”