When did you start playing football? What was your first day like?
i’ll never forget mine. Everyone I knew said I was too skinny to play and didn’t know how to play so it was a waste of time and total joke. My sisters boy friend at the time was a captain of the varsity team (lake mary). He was also captain of the wrestle team and a senior that year and I’d already been lifting weights and wrestling since the seventh grade. He talked me into giving it a shot as a freshman. I had no clue how to play other than just watching our canes since the fifth grade and idolized ray lewis.
my god that first day was nerve racking. I came from a different school (rock lake) than where most of the kids on my team were from (greenwood) so they had their clicks and most (at least in my mind) had been playing for years and knew what they were doing. The ones that did definitely let you know it too.
thank god for drills and pre season and my dad helping me understand everything.
First day of practice some kid comes up to me for no reason and says you’re not taking my number. I could give two shits about a number at this point and am like wtf? I step to him, fight breaks out and it get’s broken up immediately. He was the starting qb. From that day I knew I wanted to play defense. we ended up being friends later on but pounding the qb or anyone that tried to make gains at my expense was always my happy place.
Then there was special teams, my other happy place. Just stay in your lane and destroy who ever get’s in your way.
not going to sit here and say that I had this long successful football career but I will tell you that playing ball ended up being one of the most fun times in my life.
now I have two boys and think twice about letting them play with all the crazy athletes that can really injure them young in their lives. You see some of these high school kids now and they look like grown men.
Who am I kidding though? It’s worth the risk. Football is truly a gift from god that I’ll always be thankful for getting to play. Can’t take that from them. Hope they get to have as much fun as I did and prey they don’t get hurt when they get a little older. Not going to push them to it but I don’t see how they won’t want to get into what’s by far and away the coolest high school sport. They have the added bonus too in that I didn’t exactly set the bar high. No matter how good or bad my boys are, I can’t wait to see them have as much fun playing this game as I did.
i’ll never forget mine. Everyone I knew said I was too skinny to play and didn’t know how to play so it was a waste of time and total joke. My sisters boy friend at the time was a captain of the varsity team (lake mary). He was also captain of the wrestle team and a senior that year and I’d already been lifting weights and wrestling since the seventh grade. He talked me into giving it a shot as a freshman. I had no clue how to play other than just watching our canes since the fifth grade and idolized ray lewis.
my god that first day was nerve racking. I came from a different school (rock lake) than where most of the kids on my team were from (greenwood) so they had their clicks and most (at least in my mind) had been playing for years and knew what they were doing. The ones that did definitely let you know it too.
thank god for drills and pre season and my dad helping me understand everything.
First day of practice some kid comes up to me for no reason and says you’re not taking my number. I could give two shits about a number at this point and am like wtf? I step to him, fight breaks out and it get’s broken up immediately. He was the starting qb. From that day I knew I wanted to play defense. we ended up being friends later on but pounding the qb or anyone that tried to make gains at my expense was always my happy place.
Then there was special teams, my other happy place. Just stay in your lane and destroy who ever get’s in your way.
not going to sit here and say that I had this long successful football career but I will tell you that playing ball ended up being one of the most fun times in my life.
now I have two boys and think twice about letting them play with all the crazy athletes that can really injure them young in their lives. You see some of these high school kids now and they look like grown men.
Who am I kidding though? It’s worth the risk. Football is truly a gift from god that I’ll always be thankful for getting to play. Can’t take that from them. Hope they get to have as much fun as I did and prey they don’t get hurt when they get a little older. Not going to push them to it but I don’t see how they won’t want to get into what’s by far and away the coolest high school sport. They have the added bonus too in that I didn’t exactly set the bar high. No matter how good or bad my boys are, I can’t wait to see them have as much fun playing this game as I did.
