Just Love Those Kids
By Coach Larry Weber
What Matters Most
I remember reading a story years ago that has never left me. It was about a class reunion unlike any other. The students who had graduated together decades earlier had grown into an astonishingly accomplished group. Many had become doctors, lawyers, scientists, engineers, teachers, and church leaders. Others had chosen different paths but were equally fulfilled and thriving.
Their success caught the attention of a reporter, who decided to dig deeper. How could one graduating class have such an extraordinary track record? After interviewing student after student, the reporter noticed something striking: again and again, they mentioned the same teacher.
It didn’t matter whether they had become surgeons, pastors, or musicians—every one of them credited this teacher as the most important influence in shaping their journey.
When the reporter finally tracked her down, he asked the question we all want to know: What was your secret?
“Was it a new curriculum?” he asked.
“No,” she said.
“Was it your teaching methods? Or your classroom management?”
“Not really,” she replied, shaking her head gently.
The reporter pressed further, curious.
At last, she smiled, paused, and gave her answer:
“I just loved those kids.”
That was it. No magic formula. No revolutionary textbook. No secret algorithm. Just love.
But this wasn’t a soft, sentimental love. It was a love that showed up every single day. She took the time to learn their stories. She went the extra mile to help when a child struggled. She celebrated their victories, no matter how small, and corrected them with gentleness when they stumbled. Her students didn’t just learn algebra, grammar, or history in her class—they learned that they mattered. And that love stayed with them for a lifetime.
At the root of her success, love really did win.
Lessons for Us All
This story is not just about one remarkable teacher. It is a mirror for all of us who work with kids—whether in the classroom, on the athletic field, in the music hall, or at home.
The truth is simple but often overlooked: just loving kids is how you make champions of kids.
That extra word of encouragement may be the difference between a child giving up or pressing forward. That look of confidence from an adult may be the one spark that tells a child, “I believe in you, even if you don’t yet believe in yourself.”
Sometimes, that’s all it takes for greatness to be born.The Call to Love
The world often tells us that success comes from performance, perfection, or power. But Scripture tells a different story. When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
(Matthew 22:36–40)
It doesn’t get any clearer than that. Loving God and loving others are not just nice ideas—they are the foundation of life itself.
Of course, we will never love perfectly. But some people—like that teacher—choose to live these values daily, and their legacy is measured not in wealth or accolades, but in the lives they touched.
Go Where Love Flourishes
When choosing schools, teams, or activities for our children, we often focus on facilities, programs, or technical skills. Those things matter, but they are not the most important.
Choose places where love flourishes. Choose coaches, teachers, and mentors who see more than grades or performance—who see the heart of a child. Because that love will outlast every medal, trophy, or diploma.
As a coach, I’ve seen firsthand the truth of this story. Kids don’t always remember your training schedules, your speeches, or even the wins and losses. But they remember how you treated them. They remember whether you believed in them. They remember whether you loved them.
At the end of the day, the most effective teaching, coaching, and parenting tool is not found in any manual or strategy guide. It is this: just love those kids.
Blessings,
Coach Weber
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
—Philippians 4:13
