All Pro Dad

May 7, 2012
Founder of Family First and NFL-sponsored All Pro Dad Day stadium, Merrill employs the popularity of football and its terminology plus Christian principles to help men become dedicated, loving dads. This “football fathering” playbook outlines the responsibilities men need to acknowledge and assume while balancing the demands of work, marriage, and parenting. Accessible sports analogies bolstered by quotes and advice from noted players, Super Bowl coaches, CEOs of major corporations, and a Southern politician or two—all pro dads themselves—will resonate with readers. While the first chapter introduces the two basic principles of Love and Leadership, Merrill teaches his Fundamentals of Fatherhood in seven succeeding chapters, each focused on one of the “Seven Ms” that are essential for executing them: Make-Up: Who Am I?; Mind-set: What’s My Purpose?; Motive: Why Do I Do What I Do?; Method: How Can I Love Others?; Model: What Should I Model to Others?; Message: What Do I Need to Share?; and Master: Who or What Am I Living For? At the end of every chapter is a list of questions and activities, “Huddle Up and Ask Your Kids,” designed to take the coaching off the page and into family life. The book’s motivating message, as former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers notes, is not doing anything extraordinary but doing ordinary things better than anyone else. The author scores a major goal in this strategy for creating and maintaining a flourishing family dynamic.