WENTZVILLE, Mo. - At Thursday practice, head coach James Hawkins wants his Wentzville Wildcats to give just one thing: their best.
"I try to put kids in a position where they can contribute," he said.
And though they may not realize it yet, what he's taught these fourth graders is not something you'll find in any playbook. Keeping a close eye on every punt and every pass is Nathan Laws, a 13-year-old who used to play for Hawkins.
"He wasn't the biggest kid on the team, but always had a smile on his face," Hawkins said.
There was only one thing Nathan liked more than football practice and that was the games. He started playing when he was in the fourth grade. What did he love about the game?
"Well, you get to hit people," Nathan said.
"He was always like, 'Mom, did you see me?" said Nathan's mom, Keli Stone. "'I was out there,' he said, and 'I was doing it.'"
But just two years later, instead of running the ball, Nathan and his mom were running to one doctor after another.
"He wasn't eating well and he was having seizures, and we just couldn't figure out what it was," Stone said.
When doctors did finally figure it out, the news wasn't good. Nathan was diagnosed with a rare disorder called mitochondrial disease.
"It was heartbreaking," Stone said. "Heartbreaking."
The disease causes muscle weakness, pain, and often organ failure. There is no cure. Soon, Nathan was no longer strong enough to go to school. And football was out of the question. That's when his mom says she started to lose her little boy and not to the disease.
"He started to get down," she said. "It was the first time we ever saw Nathan get down. Nothing was working. Nothing."
Then something did. One evening, Coach Hawkins showed up at Nathan's house with his playbook and an idea. He sat down and explained that one of his assistant coaches had left the team.
Hawkins recalled telling Nathan, "His son decided not play this year and so I have an opening for a coach and I thought if it would be okay with you, I'd like to make you one of our coaches."
"And he asked Nathan if he'd be willing to help him," Stone said. "And I saw Nathan smile for the first time in a long time."
That day, Nathan became the youngest assistant coach in Gateway Football League history. And make no mistake, this is not just an honorary position. Nathan reviews game film and even suggests plays.
To the kids on the team, he's just "coach." But on game day he's got another job: cheerleader.
"He's very strong. He's very encouraging," said running back Dominic Sharp.
"Like if we mess up or something, he still says 'nice try,'" said wide receiver Creighton Ervin.
At halftime of a recent game, to let Nathan know how much he meant to the team, Coach Hawkins announced that 19, the jersey number Nathan wore as a player, would be retired. Not only did the Wildcats show up for the ceremony but so did the whole league. Speaking in front of dozens of people, Hawkins told them of Nathan's disease.
"Yet you never hear a single complaint from him and we never have," he said. "That's what inspires me."
Coach Hawkins said it was a way to say thank you but Nathan's mom says she's the one who should be giving thanks.
"Someone gave him value and gave him worth," said Stone. "And gave him something to fight for."
Every season, football coaches teach their kids the importance of being strong. James Hawkins showed his kids that there may be nothing quite as strong as kindness.
"He brought my little boy back," said Stone.
