On Father's Day, it's hard not to think about the patriarch who helped bring football into your life.
That's the case for many members of the San Francisco 49ers.
For Colt McCoy, a passion for football was developed as a 4-year-old. The 49ers quarterback was introduced to the game when he served as the water boy for Jim Ned High School's football team in his hometown of Tuscola, Tex. McCoy's father, Brad, was also the football coach.
"From a very young age I was around the game because of my dad," said the quarterback acquired in an offseason trade. "I'm thankful for my dad in that way, showing me and teaching me the game.
"I think that's where I learned my love for the game."
McCoy will be in the Bay Area on Father's Day, but plans on getting together with his father in July for quality time and a round or two of golf.
Perhaps no player on the 49ers roster has a more unique relationship with their father than wide receiver Kyle Williams, son of former professional baseball player and current Executive Vice President of the Chicago White Sox, Ken Williams.
"It's like a friendship with a high level of mutual respect," said the 49ers wideout as he wore a black fitted White Sox ball cap.
San Francisco's fourth-year play-maker still recalls the lesson his father instilled in him at a young age. Not only was Williams raised around the game of baseball, he carries fond memories of spending time in the White Sox's clubhouse where he learned from some of baseball's most unique characters.
"I remember when I was a little kid I used to stick around guys like Ray Durham and Ozzie Guillen," the 49ers wideout said. "My dad put me around guys with different personalities. That was his way of teaching me how to be a man, through himself and through other guys who were professionals already."
Looking back on his childhood, Williams appreciates the leadership of his father and how it's helped mold his own professional career in a different sport, football. Williams played both baseball and football in high school and college and eventually stuck with football where he was selected by San Francisco in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
"He's been treating me like a man since I was so young so I feel like I have an old soul," Williams said with a grin.
The 49ers wideout won't be in Chicago to spend Father's Day, but he'll be reaching out to his father, who has been a part of the White Sox's front office since 2000 as General Manager and was recently promoted to his Executive title prior to the 2013 season.
"He's always so far away," Williams explained, summing up his father's busy responsibilities of running the baseball decisions for an American League franchise. "His thing is, he wants to hear from me on that day and have a conversation.
"For him, being able to hear my voice, talk to me and see that I'm doing well, it's always meant more to him than anything than anything I could give him. Material things don't mean anything to him in comparison to a phone call, a Skype or anything I could do from the heart. It's way better than any material thing."
Williams shows respect to his father throughout the year by donning the black Chicago hat wherever he goes.
"I always represent the Sox," Williams said. "That's been in my blood."
For third-year offensive lineman Daniel Kilgore, Father's Day is all about celebrating the man who provided an unmatched level of work ethic for the young lineman to follow.
"My father worked in a paper mill for 38 years, never missed a day of work," Kilgore said with a proud look. "It's shift work and it's all different every week. Following that example is what motivates me."
David Kilgore's blue-collar attitude at work rubbed off on Daniel's responsibilities with the 49ers.
"He definitely sets the tone," the 49ers lineman said. "I greatly appreciate what he's done for me and my whole family. I just hope to be half the man that he is one day."
Kilgore is proud to share his appreciation for his father and will continue to carry out everything he's learned from his father, the man who was his first in coach in every sport he ever played.
"He taught me – always love your job, go to work, get done what you have to get done and support your family," Kilgore said.
And while the members of the 49ers roster will celebrate the men who brought them in this world, some on the team will enjoy the perks of being fathers themselves.
Jonathan Goodwin takes extreme pride in raising his three sons.
The 49ers center is looking forward to seeing what kind of hand-made cards the boys come up with this year. He also appreciates the significance of the holiday as a father.
"To be recognized and know that you're doing a good job as a father it reinforces what you're doing," he said.
