To play like a champion, each member of the team must first learn how to BE a champion.  It's a demanding thing, being a champion.  Yet it's not an impossible thing.   It's a matter of winning the battle between the ears.

A champion must first learn to screen out everything he hears about football that does not enhance or match what his coaches tell him.   If someone says something that's contrary to what his coaches say, a champion promptly dismisses it, staying focused on the game as it is being taught to him.

A champion must be a wise player and abide by all the rules laid down by the head coach.   A wise player understands that the rules are an important ingredient in shaping him into becoming a championship player.

Abiding by the rules means a player does not smoke cigarettes, or do drugs, or partake of alcohol.    These things keep a player from doing his best in the games, and a champion will not risk hurting the team by doing things that reduce his personal performance.  His body is the flesh-and-bones machine he uses to win football games, so a champion makes every personal sacrifice necessary to keep his body tweaked to perfection.

A champion is a champion every day.   He goes to practice every day, arriving on time, with a "Grateful-to-be-here" attitude.    He charges onto the practice field, eager to learn, willing to do whatever is asked of him, never complaining that it's not the way he wants it to be.

A champion learns to love his parents and family members and neighbors and friends.  Yet he also learns not to let them coddle him.   He does not need protected from the "harsh" training of the coaching staff.   A champion understands that it is his duty to respond to training, and that his team cannot play like champions if he or anyone else is given special treatment.   There can be no favoritism on a team.   All players share equally in the agony of their tasks, and all players share equally in the glory that is achieved because of the agony they have endured.

A champion does not look at the team and ask what's in it for him.   A champion looks at the team and asks what he can do to help.   A champion's dedication to the team must exceed his need to glamorize himself.   A champion forces his ego to cater to the needs of the team.   A champion loves his team, embracing all that it represents, and understanding that everything he does will be measured by his teammates. 

Failing to live up to this standard will leave a player somewhat shy of being a champion.   And thus it should not surprise him if he discovers he is not playing football as a regular on the varsity.   A coach must always draw a line that denotes his level of expectation.   When a player is not sufficiently motivated and dedicated, the coach has no choice but to remove that player from the game plan.

Having done all the things mentioned thus far, a champion must then learn to discipline himself.   Discipline is not a bad word, it's a word that describes a player's behavior as it relates to the team.   A football team is comprised of individuals working together as a crisp unit.  If an individual does not conduct himself with discipline, then he has reduced the collective discipline of the team.     The unit is therefore weakened by his adverse behavior.

Discipline is always the responsibility of the player himself.   A coach cannot force a player to do anything the player is not willing to do.   Thus, a champion understands that he is his own disciplinarian.

In football, self-discipline means never cheating the team.   A champion does everything he is told to do.   He does not cheat on calisthenics.   Instead, he does every pushup and does every sit-up and runs every lap, and he does so with every ounce of vigor he can squeeze from within himself.    A champion does this because he is a person of honor.   He will not cheat the team.   If a player cheats in practice, then he will cheat his self-conditioning, and in the end he will fail to perform at his best when the team most desperately needs him. 

A champion understands that self discipline means being responsible for his actions on every play of the game.   On every play he must know where to go, and he must know what to do when he gets there.   A champion is not too afraid or too embarrassed to admit that he does not know what to do in every situation.   Thus, a champion goes to his coach during the practice week and asks what to do in such situations.   A champion understands that it's better to risk personal embarrassment by asking such a question during the practice week, than to embarrass the entire team during the game because he didn't know what to do on a particular play.   A champion does not worry about embarrassing himself before his teammates in practice (or a team meeting), because he didn't know something.   A champion sticks out his chest like a man and asks the question that needs to be asked.   He concedes that he is in practice to learn all that he can about football.   It's his duty to the team to rise above personal shyness and do what he must do to learn everything about the game.   That's self-discipline.

A champion self-disciplines himself by making sure he eliminates all his mental mistakes.   It's usually a mental mistake, not a physical mistake, when a player does something that causes a penalty to be marked off against his team.    A champion understands that it's his personal responsibility to know the rules of the game; he accepts that it's his duty to abide by the rules of the game.   If he is in doubt about a particular rule, a champion will promptly ask his coach.

Champions are not perfect human beings.   But they do strive for perfection of the game.   If a champion makes a mistake in a game, he cannot take it back, but he can discipline himself so that it never happens again.   Likewise, a champion does not let a mistake rattle him.   He promptly puts his mind back into the game and stays focused on the next event. 

A champion never draws a personal foul for unsportsman-like conduct.   A champion understands that such a foul not only carries a major penalty against his team, but also a champion understands that he has just embarrassed the entire team.   A champion will never do anything that damages the reputation of the Massillon Tigers, either on the field, or off the field.   As long as he dons the uniform of the Massillon Tigers, he will always conduct himself as a gentleman and as a person of honor.

A champion is humble and unselfish.   He remains modest in his behavior, no matter how well he has done.   He relies on others to recognize him for his devotion and his achievements.   He never brags or shows off.   His pride is expressed in the success of his team.

A champion never allows defeat on the field to defeat his spirit or the spirit of his teammates.   Instead, he learns from his mistakes and gets better, and he encourages his teammates to do the same.   A champion rises up stronger from his negative experiences, never giving up, no matter how hopeless or exasperating it seems. 

A champion always gives more to the team than he receives.   Always.   And when he is no longer a member of the team, a champion remains dedicated to the pride and success of the team for the rest of his life, doing all he can to support the program and sharing what he has learned.

A champion is never ashamed to admit that he was in error.   A champion learns to use his errors as tools for improvement.   He promptly picks up the pace, strives to do better, and fights all the harder for his team.   A champion understands that every day is a renewed opportunity to do better than he did the day before. 

Finally, a champion relentlessly meets the challenges on the football field with pride smoldering in his eyes.   He calls upon the might of his spirit to provide him the strength he needs.   He becomes the nobel knight of the gridiron, imposing his will upon the opponent, never holding back, always giving it everything he has on every play, never allowing himself to feel exhausted until the game is over.

And when the game is over, the champion will always hold his head high.    NO Tiger should ever leave the field with his head down.   He is a champion.  And since he is a champion, then he has played like a champion, and he will not have cause to to hang his head in shame.   It's called dignity.