The best coach I ever had openly talked about the concept of “love” with our team consistently. He did it all the time. Not in a soft way, because he wasn’t soft. And it’s the reason he is one of the greats. What I learned from him: Love might have some roots in biology and chemistry. It might be familial. But love is mostly work — mostly service of something outside of self. If you say you love the game, it’s a great opportunity to learn how deep your concept of love goes. That comes with everything the game has to offer, including offseason training, film, the endless drive to find one more thing you can do to serve the team better … and the recruiting process. If you make recruiting about the stars, the ratings, the number of offers you got, you’re missing the point. Recruiting is about relationships — when done for the love of game. How we develop them. How we maintain them. How we navigate difficult conversations. How we keep promises. Love is service of relationships. It’s worth it. It takes a thick skin. You’ll mess up and fail to meet your own standards. But it’s worth the challenge. It’s worth the scrap. So, if you’re stuck on the recruiting process, rumble young man rumble — and put in the work to build one great relationship, for the love of the game.