MIDLOTHIAN, VA (WTKR)- Nate Daniels made a name for himself on the football field, but he's having no trouble keeping busy during his post-gridiron career.
Daniels owns Daniels Sports Performance in Midlothian, spending his days helping student-athletes and adults reach their potential. However, that's not his only strength. He's also a highly decorated children's author.
"I've always loved storytelling," Daniels said, adding that reading was part of his upbringing. "I wanted to find a way to reach kids and inspire them at a younger age.
The pandemic gave the former Fairfax High School star his window to start his writing career. He authored his first book, So You Want to Be a Pro?, and has written two additional works since that time.
His latest book is titled So You Want to Be a Big Leaguer?, the story of a young boy named Anthony who falls in love with the game of baseball and has big dreams both on and off the field.
"This book, out of the three, is my favorite so far," Daniels noted. "It actually delves into some family obstacles and adversity that I feel are real life obstacles that do occur. It shows how, with the help of his family and the people in his life, he was able to persevere and fight through those and continue on his path to greatness."
Following his high school career in Fairfax, Daniels went on to play college football at Ferrum and saw time professionally playing arena football. He's found that his experiences on the field can translate to his writing.
"We don't get what we want, we get what we work for," he said of what he learned during his athletic career. "It takes a lot of work and a lot of effort to develop these story-lines and characters and go through the whole producing process of getting it from my ideas to actual book form, but it's all worth it when you see the feedback and the faces of the kids once they're impacted by it."
Daniels sees himself evolving as an author. He points to diving into some deeper issues in his latest work, nothing dark or too deep, but showing how real life can present challenges and hurdles. This is a development for him after keeping his first two books more "surface level."
"There's always going to be ups and downs and I feel in this one I really get to touch on some of those," he noted. "I feel like that has made a better book, a more real book, and I feel more impactful than the other two."
His favorite part might be meeting the kids who have made his books regular reading. Daniels has done appearances and book-signings, as well as readings, and gets to see first-hand how the young readers react to his work.
"There were so many people that were impactful that inspired me as a young person," he said. "To think that I have any part in that for any kid, much less several kids, is amazing."
To learn more about Nate Daniels and his books, click here.
