Nick Foles led the Philadelphia Eagles to their first Super Bowl victory this month after spending years as a backup quarterback, becoming one of the most unlikely Super Bowl MVPs in National Football League history.

Despite legendary Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s 500-yard passing performance in Super Bowl LII, Foles’ steady play—and his own reception for a touchdown—helped guide the Eagles to a 41–33 victory on February 4. The next day, Foles’ comments to the press not only highlighted an important message for youngsters, but the reason he deserves to take home the NFL’s top honor.

NBC Sports Philly’s Reuben Frank posed the question: “You had kind of a unique journey (to get here.) What would you like people to take from your journey the last few years (and) be inspired by?” Foles, who spent the last six years in the NFL moving from the Eagles to the Rams to the Chiefs and back to the Eagles, didn’t hesitate.

“I think the big thing is don’t be afraid to fail,” Foles said, according to The News Tribune. “I think in our society today—Instagram and Twitter—it’s a highlight reel. It’s all good things. And then you look at it, you think, like, ‘Wow,’ when you have a rough day or your life’s not as good as that, you’re failing. Failure’s a part of life. That’s a part of building character and growing,” he said. “Like, without failure, who would you be? I wouldn’t be up here if I hadn’t fallen thousands of times, made mistakes. We’re all human. We all have weaknesses.”

Life’s struggles, Foles said, are an opportunity. “. . . I think throughout this, just being able to share that (failure) and be transparent, I know when I listen to people speak and they share their weaknesses, I’m listening, because (it) resonates,” he said. “So I’m not perfect. I’m not Superman. I might be in the NFL, and we might’ve just won the Super Bowl, but, hey, we still have daily struggles. I still have daily struggles. But that’s where my faith comes in. That’s where my family comes in. And I think when you look at a struggle in your life,” Foles said, “just know that that’s just an opportunity for your character to grow.”

Foles’ sage advice echoes the findings of a recent study in character formation in American high schools published in The Content of Their Character.

Editors James Davison Hunter and Ryan S. Olson, with the Institute of Advanced Studies in Culture, describe the faith and family context of Foley’s life—and the lives of students—as a moral ecology:

When social institutions—whether the family, peer relationships, youth organizations, the internet, religious congregations, entertainment, or popular culture—cluster together, they form a larger ecosystem of powerful cultural influences.

Hunter and Olson emphasize that “all social institutions rest upon distinctive ideals, beliefs, obligations, prohibitions, and commitments.”

The current generation of young NFL fans now have a new sports hero to celebrate, and his wisdom and humility are as worthy of admiration as his Super Bowl-winning performance.

CultureFeed contributor Jim Thompson founded the nonprofit Positive Coaching Alliance to cultivate honorable athletes like Foles. The Alliance offers a resource center to help coaches, parents, and school officials incorporate lessons on character to develop “Better Athletes, Better People” through youth and high school sports.