And when I asked how they got involved in those activities, both the kids and the adults always answered that it was someone that got them interested, and not anything intrinsic in the event itself. They followed someone they respected into an activity that that person loved, and they discovered it from there. In football, volunteers from the community are sought after. No sports program in a high school could ever operate without assistant coaches, trainers, and other local people who aren't paid to help out. These guys give hours and hours to the school in exchange for a handshake, a vinyl jacket and a dinner at the end of the season.
Volunteers become a natural part of human activity.
There are almost never volunteers in the classroom, no adult who seems to believe that math or chemistry is so interesting that she or he would do it for free on a regular basis. In football, ability isn't age-linked. Freshmen who excel can play for the varsity. When a student tries out for football, he gets a good looking over by several coaches, and if he's really good, they're going to move him up fast. In the classroom, if that same student is really good if he's inspired one person sees it and gives him an A. Big deal it's the same A that someone else gets for just doing the requirements without that inspiration.