Yes, they do. We keep it to one team sport a year — We need to have a life other than sports! — but we just love that our guys play football for the Homeschool Football League.

Football seems to be a sport that our guys are good at and we love the spirit and principle of the league.

A major principle of the league is that family is important. Practices are two long nights a week, but all levels of one team (varsity, junior varsity, youth and mighty mite) practice at one location, so families aren’t separated. Games are on Saturdays and again, all the levels of one team play all the levels of another — so families just make a day of it at the park – bring tents, picnics, toys, etc and spend the day watching football games. Great fun for everyone.

We love the spirit that Coach Earl Pendleton has achieved in the League, too. Parents, coaches and players are expected to act like Christians. Flatten someone in a tackle? After the whistle, give him a hand up. Player injured? Everyone takes a knee and prays for him. Talk back to a ref? You’re ejected from the game. One referee told one of our boys that the refs compete to officiate at our games. He said they love the attitudes – no one ever cusses them out, players just say, “Yes, sir,” and comply. All that and hard-fought football, too? A ref’s dream come true!

An added bonus of football is that our guys are just plain easier to get along with when they are using up all that testosterone and energy on the field!

Read Chapter Six of Raising Real Men to see why boys want to compete on just everything or check out our workshop, Ballistic Homeschooling, to see how that attitude can motivate boys to get their schoolwork done.