At County High School, football was king. If you were a guy and not a member of the football team then you were already behind in the popularity polls. I was not so much interested in the popularity battle but I did love sports, especially football. Sports kept me busy throughout my high school life. I played basketball, baseball, and football every year. Out of all the sports football was my favorite hands down. From the time I started playing football in pee wee I was positioned at quarterback. This continued through the beginning of the season in the ninth grade. At the beginning of my ninth grade year I was prone to injury. I went from hip pointers to sprained ankles and was never able to see much playing time. This hurt my morale, because I have always dreamed about becoming the next big shot quarterback that came through Nashville; and with the luck I was having that did not seem likely. At the end of my ninth grade year I was healthy again and ready to compete for the starting quarterback spot in high school.
Our high school football team had three potential quarterbacks. There were two juniors and myself, a sophomore. None of us had the job hands down. It was going to take hard work to win the position. I was constantly going to quarterback camps and lifting weights just trying to prepare for the start of the new season. The quarterback battle was the main topic of the newspapers; the attention was great but the pressure kept piling up. August came quick and it was time for practice to start. Practicing at this level was so different for me; the guys were faster, bigger, and stronger. We went through the same routine everyday, throwing hundreds of balls and running a million different plays. It was tough on me but I was catching on quick. By the start of September the team was ready to start the season. The quarterback battle was pretty tight; the coach said he didn't even know who was going to start the first game. I knew it would not be me, but I still kept a positive attitude and just waited for my turn.
Our season opener was against a big rival.
Surprisingly enough, one will find the most passionate football players at the high school level. Most boys will start their football career as a young child in football programs such as Pop Warner to get a foothold and to get those involved in teamwork and friendships. These programs are usually the start to someone falling in love with the sport and making it a career choice eight years later. Football is one of America’s favorite sports. When fall season comes around, people across America are placing bets, finding out where that new sports bar is, and buying wide screen T.V’s to watch NFL on Sundays.
I had been told that it was much harder and the players were bigger faster and stronger, so I thought that I was not going to be the Tom’s next favorite target and that I got lucky in youth football by playing against a bunch of unskilled players. However I soon found out the middle school football was just as like youth football I would receive a short screen pass and then mostly because I was afraid to be tackled I would take off and score. With Jared throwing me the ball from either the line of scrimmage or forty yards down field we were unstoppable. We suffered one loss in our middle school career and went undefeated our 8th grade year. Yet again I was sure to be Tom’s next go to
Growing up in a small town, football had always been a huge deal to what seemed to be everyone besides me, at the time I would have rather stayed at home and wasted my life away being lazy. I started to play at the age of six to fuel my
Everyone has life experiences. Some can be new and fun, like the first time ever going to Disney World as a child. Meeting your favorite movie characters and seeing stories come to life. Other can be tragic, like losing a loved one or suffering a car crash. No matter the experience we all learn from them. I am here to tell you about an experience of mine that I went through at an early age. At the age of 15, I told my parents that I wanted to play football. The sport of football really changed my view on life and taught me that things don’t come easy and that if you really want something, you’re going to have to put in the time and work. One of the many experiences of being in the sport of football is that practice is one of the toughest things I’ve ever went through, physically and mentally. Football taught me a lot about team work and working with others on doing and executing a job. Football made me faster stronger smarter and wiser. I had great coaches who always encouraged me to keep going whenever I wanted to quit because something was too hard or I was feeling
It 's the day before my last high school varsity basketball game as a senior… Wow four years went by this fast who would have imagined this day would have came. All day I was thinking about the season ending. This game meant everything to me, it wasn 't any ordinary game. It 's a section game! Win or go home.. With it being my last high school game I wanted to close the chapter knowing I gave it my all. Practice was probably the most intense it 's ever been for me. Emotions were flaring and we were all on the grind.
Freshman year of football almost drove me to quit football. The coaches drove us harder and made us work our tails off. That year taught me to work even harder than before. My sophomore year was even more taxing than the year before, trying to show the coaches that I belong and that I will try to beat the upperclassmen in anything that I could. Junior year I didn’t get to play varsity and that drove me to work even harder to get a starting spot for my senior year. By the time I got to my junior year, I finally got out of my comfort zone and I wouldn’t just take a hit, I would deliver one. And when senior year rolled around I finally got a starting spot on the varsity offense. I finished my senior season with one catch for thirty eight yards. High school football taught me to trust people; coaches, teammates, and friends. Without them none of it would have happened.
I loved everything about the sport, knew everything about the sport, and simply wanted to be physically involved with the sport. I signed up for my local football organization and greatly anticipated the start of the season. My first season our team finished undefeated, winning each game with ease. I played offensive line and enjoyed every play, finally being a part of the sport I loved. My coach at the time admired my hard work and dedication, repeatedly telling my fellow teammates that we should all aspire to have a work ethic such as my own. At the end of the season, my coach suggested I practice to become a quarterback. A quarterback is usually one of the skinniest players on the team, a trait I certainly didn't have. If I were to be a quarterback, I would have to lose at least thirty pounds and practice almost every day until the next season. As crazy as the suggestion seemed to me at the time, I gladly accepted the challenge and almost instantly began to work to become the best quarterback I could
My 8th grade year around the month of February people were starting to recognize spring football was right around the corner. I was a middle school stud says most coaches I played bandit and sometimes safety full time. Tine seemed to fly faster and faster day by day the team was coming ! Spring had finally come and walking on the I was a pretty favorable upcoming freshman by coaches and players. The first couple of practices were great I never known so much went into high school football but I eventually found out. My knee was hurting a lot my 7th grade year because of ball that
It was the last season of my football career and it could not have been going better. We were winning games and were having a blast. The team was giving high fives and banging helmets together. We were a true family; growing closer than any team I had ever been with before. I was standing with my teammates as we said the same prayer before our game as we did every week. “Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” The deep, strong voices rang throughout the room sending chills down my back. I loved it.
Sadly, my family was going through financial struggles, forcing me out of the school zone I was destined to attend. When I discussed the situation wih the high school coaches they told me they would pick me up from my new house and take me to school every day; with the condition that I’d play football for them all throughout high school. Even though this was illegal I continued to go ahead and accept the offer. My first year of high school was so exciting that it went by in the blink of an eye. Sophomore year came and the clock ticked closer and closer to when everything would change. I started in varsity as a corner back but soon would have big shoes to fill as the team’s quarterback. Not only did this require skill and hard work but the ability and qualities of a leader as well. Ultimately, playing this position helped me acquire traits that would soon be necessary for success. That year was tough for us because the majority of the team consisted of inexperienced players, however the coaches knew I would be the one to lead the
Continuing involvement in football happens at the high school level because it is the most easily accessible program to teens. A teen will usually continue playing football in high school if they enjoyed playing or they really excelled at it in the peewee level. The good thing about playin...
It was two days until the first game of my last high school football season. My team and I were going to play Bayfield, a battle we had persistently prepared for since the last game of our junior year. The sun was beating on my pads, radiating the heat to make practice seem even worse. I was exhausted and looking forward to the end of my last sweat poring practice for the week. Our team was repetitively executing plays to make sure they were like second nature to us on Friday.
For as long as I can remember football has been a part of my life in some way, shape, or form. When I was first born my grandfather said that I was solid and built to play football. I used to throw the football with my mother when I was a toddler and she always told me that when I tried to tackle her I hit really hard. My first organized football experience was when I was five. I had just moved to Manassas, VA from Washington, D.C. in 1994. It was around fall and that was right at the beginning of football season in the area. I remember telling my mother that I wanted to play, so she looked for a local organization for children. She came across the Greater Manassas Football League (GMFL) and that is where I began to play the game I love.
Be that as it may I still loved the sport and did my very best to follow it. My dad started a flag football team for myself and my friends, this was where I became infatuated with it. Unfortunately after a slew of injuries in the off season I wasn 't able to play for 2-3 years. However once we moved back to the United States I was finally able to strap on pads and begin the sport I had so longed for. Coming back from Europe was truly a strange time. Getting readjusted to the culture, seeing new places, this was a huge event in my life. Football was a sense of normality for me, it was constant. I used the sport to not only entertain myself but to also interact and relate with
The greatest achievement in my life would have to be my success in the sport of football. I started playing the game at the age of eight. It stuck with me throughout my life until now. During a football game there are numerous amounts of dynamic situations to be involved with. There are so many crucial actions that take place in the matter of seconds. In a certain instance in my life , the game had a strong impact on my life. It took place my senior year against our rivals, the best team in the district. That Monday we began preparing for the coming Friday. It was a typical week until I woke up Wednesday morning. I was routinely late for school running around the house. On my way out the door the phone brought me to an abrupt stop. Turning around, I started to sprint to the phone. A few steps into it, I crushed my little toe on the leg of my couch. Face down on the carpet, I proceeded to scream in pain. Answering the phone quickly got check off my things to do list. As soon as I could regain my sanity I hopped over to the couch and forgot about school. My toe suddenly turned black and swollen. It was the worst coincidence that could’ve happened to me. I went to the hospital later that day, where I heard that my foot was broken and I couldn’t play.