LovePrints. A Mother's Day thank you for covering the world in love.

It is Mother's Day 2017. I lost my mother recently, and there is not one day that passes where I do not talk to her, feel her, miss her, and love her. That is the essence of LovePrints. To cover our world in so much love that nothing else can stick. To cover those we love in so much love that we then cover all that we come in contact with in that love. Love in action. Action in love. That is our LovePrint.

As parents, we mission to boundary our young people in the most love possible. I talk about teachers, mentors, idols, coaches, and others. It is mothers who do the real work. The real heavy lifting when it comes to love and how it is known. What love feels like, what it sounds like, what it can do to heal, and what it can do to lift. A mom's love is the great elevator, the great lifter, the great carrier, and the great support. A mother lays the foundation for what the picture of love is in our minds, hearts, and spirit.

As we enter into the world, we take with us the strength provided in a mothers love, and we stand in the depth of character a mother has shown. We act in the love of her example, and we live in the idea of honoring the love we were blessed in. We know from example what the purpose of love is, and we have seen up close what unconditional love feels like. A mother and her LovePrint is more powerful than fear, hate, and doubt. It is the light, and it shines any road we journey on. That is the power of a mother's love.

I salute you, mothers all. No matter mother in blood, heart, or spirit. No matter if you mother your own, mine, or ours. No matter if you are the loudest fan in the stands, the first in line to bring drinks and fruit, the last one home after driving home all of the kids of your sister moms who had to work, or if you cook extra meals just in case someone needs it, thank you.

I salute you if you if you tuck in, iron out, fold up, kiss it better, tell the story, hug it out, clean it up, truth tell, or make it all fine, thank you.

I salute you if you wake us up, text without boundary, call without reason, cry with joy, shout out accolades, or simply smile and nod, thank you.

I salute you if you cook for one, two, six, or 50. If you buy enough for yours, mine, or some you never knew just in case, thank you.

I salute you if you stood in the doorway as someone else walked home alone, or waited in the doorway to make sure of an arrival, thank you.

I salute you if you sent cash even if there was no request, or when it was dire need, thank you.

I salute you if you made clothes, washed them, bought them, or shared them with those more in need than your own, thank you.

I salute you if you told someone else's the truth, set them straight, stopped them when going astray, or smiled when needed, thank you.

A LovePrint is the constant loving out loud. it is the constant love in action. It is the constant action in love.

A LovePrint is the constant desire and choice to cover your world in love.

One day is not enough to love you out loud.

Thank you for covering us all in love.

Thank you, mother's all.

LovePrints Robert Smith-A life of LovePrints

Loveprints should begin at home, and in my case, it was wearing a huge smile and running shoes. Robert Smith was larger than life to me, in his ability to bring the world into our house, and to hold our hand while leading us into the world. I remember watching him refuse to have his Black Knights football jersey cut off when they tried to treat the broken collarbone he injured in a game. I thought, THAT is awesome! I remember seeing him with free weights in the back yard, and asking why it made him faster. (It made him STRONGER, which made him faster). I recognized early that he was a student, AND an athlete, and that the two should be working together. And, he made being moved in service cool. I wanted to know more about Christ, service, and purpose. He would travel to races and come home with t shirts from wherever he went. I began to search those places out and wonder if I would ever go there. What would it take to walk in his footsteps? What has he seen and done while he was there? What will it take for me to do the things that he has done? He was photographed, interviewed, and followed. And yes, he was popular.

He was an amazing athlete. Olympic Trials in sprinting, College All American. Program changer. He went on to become a community leader, a husband, father, and favorite son. He is a leader of spirits, a calming presence, and the glue that keeps his family and others together. He simply is love walking, talking, and in action.

What he did was show me the road out of our neighborhood. He showed me how academics were important, and he showed me that I could see the world because he had. He made me dream of bigger things, be curious about life, and to be decent while pursuing those things. He taught me to be a better brother, son, and man. His LovePrints are all over me and mine. I had to share him with you all. He is too amazing to keep to myself. I hope that you had a hero in your house. I sure am thankful for him. Love in action. Action in love.

LovePrints - Arlington County and The Black Knights

The Mighty Black and Gold! The Black Knights of Arlington, Virginia. A mix of everything and everyone in South Arlington. Black, white, brown, yellow, and every color that exists. All under one black and gold umbrella. If you grew up in Arlington back in the day, you recognized the colors black and gold, and you knew that whoever was wearing them was connected to anyone else that wore them past or present. You might ask their last name to find out what family, just so you could send home a hug or a smile to someone or everyone in that family. You knew their siblings, you knew their neighborhood, and you knew their friends. They knew you. You were a Black Knight. The Black Knights were about sports, but so much more. The Knights were about each other, and everyone else. They were about the neighborhoods that represented them, and that the Black Knights represented. They were about the families that trusted them with their kids and their well being. They were about standard. The Mighty Black Knights.

They were a fence post in the community. They were a meeting place, a boundary setter, a standard carrier, and they were home. You knew that you could see everyone on any given practice night or game day, and that you could check in and know what was going on while you were away within minutes. You knew who had parents that worked late, who had a big station wagon, who had the best family meals, and who had the best back yard for after practice get togethers. Any parent was everyone's parent. Any child was everyone's child. And oh what a wonderful family it was.

The last names were calling cards, business cards, and most definitely, id cards. We all knew the names that led us, coached us, taught us, and loved us. (And pardon me know if I miss a name or family, I would be here all night if I listed everyone. Plus, I am old and my memory is leaking!). You knew the names. They were on the call list (pre email, text, and cell phones). They were on the address list so that parents knew where to drop off those ride-less kids. They needed the home phone numbers because some dear sweet soul would have to call the entire roster if there were practice, game, weather, or game treat updates.

The Kayes. Hunter. Terrell. Glascock. Saunder. Holland. Reid. Blackwell. Goodwin. McKinney. Fox. Ney. Naylor. Taylor. Morris. Peyton. Hunt. Cook. Woody. Hutchinson. Blake. Etal. (Told you, I would forget some. Feel free to add to the list!) These were just some of the names that rang out and stood out in the Black Knights family. These were the folks that followed you home, popped in at school, drove through the neighborhood, and hugged you. That is who the Black Knights were. They were extended family who you grew up with and left a LovePrint on us ALL.

It was football with its coronation from white pants to gold, meaning you had grown up enough to wear the awesome gold game pants, to the spray painting of the black helmets on Friday night so that they were gorgeous and shiny for Saturdays game. It was THE THING. It was Saturday's at Bluemont Park, TJ, and Yorktown. ALL DAY! Watching each weight class, seeing everyone, following the amazing Black Knight cheerleaders as they SHOWED OUT EVERY WEEK! (Sorry Bearcats cheerleaders, but..). From the team tents with great food and BL gear, to seeing each of Arlington's team roll through.

It was basketball and its twice a week stops at Swanson. Sitting in the stands and watching the older legends play, catching up with the other teams, and saying high to your friends that played on other squads. (Smaller squad size moved a lot of Knights to other sponsors in basketball season).

Baseball and Softball was amazing. Weeknights and Saturdays at Barcroft, and again, ALL DAY. Every age group, every level, and chasing foul balls and returning them for sno-cones during the day. The Black Knights were an all year family, no matter the sport, season, or reason, you were covered in Black Knights family love forever. And the other teams that partnered up with the Black Knights in South and Central Arlington (Fairlington Mustangs, Red Top Cab, Bauer Studios, Arlington Trust, Real Title, Arlington Cubs, etc), all made for young people who felt like they belonged, mattered, and were connected to something amazing. And they were right.

Decades later, if you want to know what the impact of the Black Knights was, simply ask someone, anyone, who was a part of the family. You can even ask the Hawks, Cubs, Bearcats, Optimist, and anyone who grew up in Arlington. They will smile with love. That is what the Black Knights were about. Love.

Did men have an advantage through sports? Women, now it's our turn!

A friend recently gave me a book that gave me a new perspective on how women have more to offer than is sometimes realized. Relevant to our work here at LovePrints I read about this initiative from the U.S. Department of State and espnW called GSMP: Empower Women through Sports and the Global Sports Mentoring Program.

This book I am reading referred to the statistics from global consultancy EY and espnW which surveyed 400 women business executives who held a position in the C-suite (CEO,CFO etc), and found that 94% had participated in sports and the majority of them felt that sports can accelerate women's leadership and career potential. Read more in Fast Forward by Melanne Verveer and Kim K Azzarelli.

According to the research referenced on the Global Sports Mentoring website, women and girls’ participation in sports is an important social and economic empowerment tool. Key benefits from playing sports noted are as follows:

• Women and girls acquire new professional networks, develop a sense of identity and access new opportunities to become more engaged in school and community life;
• Sports serve as a vehicle to improve women’s and girls’ leadership roles and participation in decision-making; 
• Sports convene people across borders, cultures and belief systems, and can promote greater tolerance and understanding among individuals and communities;
• Girls’ participation in sports can challenge gender stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes; and
• Studies show a direct correlation between girls’ participation in sports and higher education and employment.

Thank you espnW and the US State Department for this initiative. This mentoring initiative definitely can leave a LovePrint on the world.

Fairfax Football Academy Coach Barry Thompson has left LovePrints everywhere.

One. Just one special one. Barry Thompson, Founder of Fairfax Football Academy is a special one.

If we get lucky, as coaches, players, teachers, mentors, students, parents, or fans, we run across one special one. Just one. Of any of them.

I luckily have happened to have crossed paths with several of each in my life. Incredibly fortunate. And in most cases, they are far to humble to speak of or for themselves, so I ill use this vehicle to speak on them, of them, and about them. It is not that people do not speak about them, it is HOW they speak about them that I wish to change. I will start this one with someone that I am close to, and someone that I admire deeply. As I explain who he is, I will explain those traits about him that make him special. Special to me, to others, to anyone. Barry Thompson of Fairfax Football Academy is a unicorn in a dancing grizzly bears clothing.

I first met him in Arlington, Virginia back in 1975. We were both attending Swanson Jr. High School, and he was already an elite student and athlete. He also was already forming as a leader of his peers and community. He ran track, was a roller skating phenom, a black quarterback, and a wrestler. And what anyone that ever met him can tell you that he sparkles. We met again at Washington-Lee High School in the same country, and his trajectory continued as a human and as an athlete. On a team with future Division 1 and NFL players among them, he was still a leader of stars. A "do it the right way", "is that your best effort", "now that we are done working, lets smile" kind of guy. Those traits took him to Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, a factory of amazing leaders itself.

His story goes deeper off the field, than on. Yes, he was a high school quarterback who was athletic enough to switch positions to play defensive back in college. No small statement there at all. And another key to his uniqueness and his ability to analyze, adapt, and succeed. And those things serve him well today, as a honorable son, a loving husband, a doting father, and a shining light to young people all over the country.

Life put us on each other's paths again some 25 years after high school. A random encounter at a youth league event put us face to face, and back in time. The quarterback in his huddle, calling his wide receiver to attention and tasking the troops with the next goal. And off we went, to rally some younger troops in a new place and a different times. But the same ole QB, same leadership and wisdom. And, the IT thing. The subtle character and trust factor that makes you want to GO! The thing that makes you want to work, improve, and try to be better. He is truly unique in his energy to assist, lead, and love.

He is blessed and gifted with a partner in life of epic standard. She too, a beacon of light, good, and beauty. Strong, resilient, and purposeful, she is the backbone to the family and community, and the two of them have raised two of the most incredibly beautiful humans anyone can imagine or hope for. Two life stars who will grow to change the world for the better, and that is why they are here. To be the standard makers and North Stars. I applaud them as loudly and proudly as I can, no matter where they are or what they are doing. It's like standing on a beach as the sun rises. The beauty is astonishing, and the possibilities are endless.

I know a lot of great people. I know a lot of great coaches. Barry is the type of person/coach that everyone should know. He is a walking, talking, good filled LOVEPRINT.