Jamaal Charles is known for being one of the best running backs in the NFL. Did you know that eight running backs were selected before him in the 2008 NFL Draft? Even with Jamaal having the fourth-most rushing yards at the University of Texas in just three seasons. Jamaal never backed away from a challenge and now you can read about it The Middle School Rules of Jamaal Charles. The book features the stories and lessons of Jamaal’s childhood, defined by people overlooking him. Young readers will see how Jamaal deals with bullying and endures teasing because of a long undiagnosed learning disability that enabled him to participate in the Special Olympics as a 10-year-old. The gold medals he won at the Special Olympics empowered him, and Jamaal displayed a rare work ethic and determination in everything he did on the field and in the classroom.
Jamaal worked with the very talented writer Sean Jensen on this book. This is the latest from Sean’s Middle School Rules series. Jensen was born in South Korea. He was adopted and grew up in California, Massachusetts, and Virginia, mostly on or near military bases. Given his unique background, he’s always been drawn to storytelling, a skill he developed at Northwestern University and crafted as a sportswriter for the last 16 years, almost exclusively covering the NFL. During his career, he has fostered strong relationships with athletes in multiple sports, and penned award-winning features on Derrick Rose and Jared Allen, among others. Sean and his family live in Minnesota.
I got to speak with Jamaal and Sean about the new book, fatherhood, and more.
Art Eddy: The book The Middle School Rules of Jamaal Charles: as told by Sean Jensen comes out on February 1st. My family and I are big fans of this series. Jamaal tell me about how you and Sean teamed up for this book.
Jamaal Charles: I saw the work he did with (Brian) Urlacher and Charles Tillman. I saw their books and read their books. I thought that maybe he could help me get my story out there to kids who are facing challenges.
AE: Sean, you have worked with some awesome athletes before on this series. Now you continue with that tradition with Jamaal. What made you pick Jamaal to be the next athlete in this series?
Sean Jenson: I really didn’t know that much about Jamaal except for what he did on the field which is obviously exceptional. I didn’t know about his backstory because Jamaal is not someone who is out there in the media. He is not someone who goes out there and does a lot of interviews. He lets his performance on the field do the talking for him.
When I started to do research on him it was phenomenal. Nobody has really told it. I remember doing some research and I came across his speech at the opening ceremony for the Special Olympics in 2015. I cried when I saw the video because Jamaal was just so genuine. You could see when they panned the audience that these kids were really feeling what he said.
When you think about the challenges of what Jamaal grew up with and the grit and determination, the belief in himself and the support he got from family members, teachers, and coaches and to see the man that he is today it was a no brainer. As I worked with him and his family and friends it just has reinforced how special a person he is. I am humbled that I can tell his story. These are his childhood stories. They are not through rosy colored glasses. We tell the real challenges that he dealt with. Sometimes they are really painful. I think that is what is really going to encourage kids too because Jamaal really had to go through some really tough times as a kid.
AE: Jamaal what do you hope readers will get out of this book?
JC: Just not to get scared when you face a challenge. You can overcome any challenge. Don’t get scared just because you have a learning disability. I was told by so many people that I had a learning disability. You can overcome those things. I just tell people that you got to work in the things that you are not strong in. If you just work at the things that you are strong in then you will never improve in the areas where you are weak in. Always stay on the things that you are weak in because you will become stronger and stronger in areas that you were once weak in.
AE: Sean what about you? What do you hope readers get out of this book?
SJ: There is so much that you can get out of this book to be completely honest with you Art. Jamaal is so inspirational in so many ways. I think that this book is going to skew a little bit older Art then maybe some of the other books. In the early years for Jamaal it was really hard. There really weren’t a whole lot of good things happening. I don’t want to give away the book, but the first half of the book is hard. It is hard to get through.
You see Jamaal dealing with setbacks and challenge after challenge. I think the most beautiful part of the story is that he never gives up on himself. There was always someone there to encourage him and push him to keep going. What is crazy is that people forget this. They see who he is today, a highly successful football player who has done well for himself and his family. They don’t understand all the challenges that he had to go through. The beautiful thing for him was that it was like a fireworks show. He gets to the middle of high school and all of a sudden he goes from somebody who nobody knows to being recruited by thirty schools. He is getting offers from the universities of Texas and Florida. Jamaal will tell you that it really came out of nowhere.
AE: Switching to fatherhood now, Jamaal what were some of the first few thoughts that popped into your mind when you found out that you were going to be a dad?
JC: I was excited. I always wanted kids. I embraced that moment to be a daddy. At a young age I didn’t know what a daddy was. I just know that I wanted a family. Growing up I didn’t have a daddy in my life. So I wanted to be there for my daughters. I want to be there for my kids and my wife. I want to raise my kids together with my wife.
AE: What are some of the core values you look to instill in your kids as they grow up?
JC: Make sure that they have God as their foundation in their life. I make my kids pray. We go to church. When you start doing things that are not right kids start paying attention. Before I changed my life around I used to put music on that had cuss words. My kids would use cuss words and think that was cool. When I changed my life around I was like I can’t do this. I can’t bring up my own blood like that. So I had to change what I listened to.
Kids look up to their parents. When they see what you are all doing and they will start doing it. So we had to change that. My kids in my house put the Lord first. We praise God in this house. I had to change my whole life around for my kids. So many people walking around saying it is all about me. That was how I was at first. I was all about me, but now I have my own family. I got to worry about my family. I said I can’t do this anymore. I have to start worrying about other people.
AE: What advice do you have for new dads?
JC: Be thankful. Be thankful for when that baby cries. Be thankful for when they want a bottle. Just be thankful because that is a blessing. So many people have blessings, but they complain about them. So just be thankful for having a gift from God and have something that you created. Always treat your kids with compassion and kindness.
Life of Dad Quick Five
AE: Do you guys have a favorite family movie that you all love to watch together?
JC: My kids love watching all types of movies, but we watch a lot of shows on the Disney Channel.
AE: Do you guys have a favorite song that you all like to sing to or dance to as a family?
JC: Right now we are listening to Juju On That Beat. All they want to do is the Juju Dance.
AE: Describe the perfect family vacation.
JC: My daughters like going to the Bahamas.
AE: Favorite type of music to listen to before a game?
JC: I like listening to Gospel. Something that inspires me.
AE: Describe your running style in one word.
JC: Cheetah.
Follow Jamaal on Twitter at @JCharles25 and Sean @SeanKJensen and go to MiddleSchoolRules.com to learn more on the Middle School Rules books as well as to purchase them.