Fairhaven Youth Football Player Delivers Powerful Halftime Speech

When an eight-year-old speaks like a seasoned team captain, you stop and listen.

That’s exactly what happened when Greyson Hebert, a running back for the Fairhaven Blue Devils 8U Pop Warner football team, delivered an electric and heartfelt halftime speech that lit a fire under his teammates – and the internet.

I still get goosebumps every time I watch it.

Get our free mobile app

The Heart of a Blue Devil

It was a sunny weekend matchup between the Fairhaven Blue Devils and the New Bedford Bears at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech. The Blue Devils had battled hard through the first half, but spirits were low heading into the break. That’s when Greyson stepped into the middle of the huddle, helmet off, and gave his team a speech straight out of a sports movie.

@fayabluedevils This right here is what I would call heart. #youthfootball #motivate #8ufootball #popwarner #fam ♬ original sound - Faya Blue Devils

His words were full of passion and grit. The moment was caught on camera by Fairhaven Athletic Youth Association President Eric Parker, who was so moved he knew it had to be shared.

A Viral Moment Born From Heart

“I had no idea he did these speeches,” Parker said. “His coaches mentioned it right before halftime and said, ‘You’ve got to hear this.’ So I pulled out my phone and recorded it. You could just feel how much he loves the game.”

Courtesy FAYA President Eric Parker

The clip, shared on TikTok, quickly spread among Fairhaven families and football fans alike – not because the team won that day (they didn’t), but because of the emotion and leadership shown by one of its youngest players.

Building Character Beyond the Scoreboard

Parker, who took over as president of FAYA earlier this year alongside a new board, said this moment perfectly represents what youth sports are all about.

“We can’t teach heart, but these athletes have it,” Parker said. “We can teach them how to be great humans on and off the field, and we definitely see the development while teaching them football and cheer.”

Best SouthCoast School Districts For Athletes

There are lots of different ways to rank SouthCoast schools, student-to-teacher ratio, test score results and more. Though for hundreds of student-athletes, one way may mean more than others.

New school data from across the state has ranked schools by their sports programs and here is how school districts on the SouthCoast stack up.

Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall