Jackson Carter

As a child, reading didn't come naturally to me. Teacher after teacher tried to force me to read their books and would punish me with bad grades when I didn't read the book. Sometimes I would attempt to read the books but would find myself daydreaming, and not retaining any of the information. When I did poorly on the reading tests, this would only serve to alienate me more from the teachers and their push to make me read.

The only way my teachers and parents could get through to me was by threatening to remove sports. I loved sports (and still do) and would spend endless hours watching and playing whatever sport was in season. I always thought that a love of sports meant that I couldn't read or wouldn't be any good at it.

Luckily, I had an amazing 8th-grade teacher who was able to see that the problem wasn't really the lack of a love of reading. Instead, it was in the material that they were trying to get me to read. He gave me the book "A Season on the Mat" which followed Dan Gable, the Iowa wrestling coach for a season. I devoured the book, and three days later was back for another.

Since that time, I've been able to branch out my reading tastes a bit more, but the lesson always stayed with me. If we want our children to read, we have to give them something that they enjoy reading.

This is why I've made it my mission to equip young people with the kindling they need to spark their love of reading. For me, this was mainly books about famous sportspeople, so that's what I focus on. My goal is to reach the young men and women who think that a love of sports isn't compatible with a love of reading.