Youth sports in the United States are more competitive than ever, especially football. A man with a Raising Boys Who can prosper is the open receiver of the Super Bowl Ed McCaffrey.
McCaffrey is the father of San Francisco’s superstar 49ers, Christian McCaffrey, the Washington’s open receiver, Luke McCaffrey, the assistant coach of the Miami Dolphins, Max McCaffrey, and former university field marshal Dylan McCaffrey.
“We were lucky. We had great children who were very competitive, very motivated. We established certain standards. The academics were important to us. We wanted to get a good education, so if they did not play well in the classroom, they would not be allowed to practice sports,” Ed said.
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The former Denver Broncos receiver, Ed McCaffrey, Centro, speaks with young soccer players with their two children, the 49ers of the San Francisco Max McCaffrey, left and Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey, right, in the McCaffrey football camp in Christian High School on June 27, 2019. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Adversity management is a critical approach point in raising children for McCaffreys. Ed believed in the intervention of parents after moments of adversity in sports in particular.
“After the game, if things are not going well, either for them personally or their team, or if they are injured, or at any time they go for a difficult moment, as a father, you want to build their spirit again, pat on the back and say ‘try again,'” he said.
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For young athletes, Ed McCaffrey believes that victories and losses are less significant than the individual mentality of competition.
“If you play to win and give your best, then you have already won, regardless of the score,” he said.
“It’s not about winning every game. We all want to win, but you won’t win every game you play. It’s about knowing that you gave everything you could to your team, your sports.”
Christian McCaffrey (5) of Stanford shakes his hand with his father, the former open receiver of the NFL Ed McCaffrey, while his mother Lisa looks after a spring game in Cagan Stadium. (John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
For McCaffrey and his children, possibly the most critical aspect for his athletic success was his daily lifestyle, especially diet and sufficient sleep.
The vast majority of McCaffrey’s children were cooked at home by their mother, Lisa McCaffrey, Ed said, added that Lisa prepared dinner for children “every night.”
Due to the constant athletic activity of the children, the parents increased the amount of red and dairy meat that ate at higher levels of what is recommended for the average adult.
“Children can consume a little more red meat, a little more fat, more dairy,” McCaffrey said.
Singing homemade food was even more important when it came to snacks before sporting events. If Ed or Lisa gave them any food before games or practice, I had to be free of certain ingredients and “easily digestible.”
The presenter of Siriusxm, Ed McCaffrey and the NFL corridor, Christian McCaffrey, of the Carolina Panthers pose for photos in Siriusxm in the Super Bowl Liv on January 30, 2020, in Miami, Fla. (Cindy Ord/Getty images for Siriusxm)
“It is difficult to consume food before an event because most foods have things that are difficult to digest, but have additives that affect their intestine, and it is difficult to compete,” said Ed. “It was very important for us when they grew up to give them healthy snacks that were easy to digest.”
One of the most common snacks that Ed and Lisa fed their children were homemade protein bites, which since then has inspired the family to free their own line of McCaffrey protein bites with similar ingredients. These ingredients include linaza, integral rice and pea protein. They also made sure to keep peanuts out of the bites due to their children’s allergies.
