The smell of dry grass fills the air as the Summer sun falls a little lower in the sky. Brutally hot days yeild way to cool breezes and the dew builds quickly on the ground as night falls. Whistles blow with cheers of passion and energy ringing out under the practice field lights.
There are sore bodies in the locker room giving way to players comparing bruises and scars that have a distinct resemblance of their brothers facemask. The pop of the pads on a football field are as much the modern day coming of age for a young man as any long standing ritual throughout history.
A player puts his hand in the dirt readying himself for the challenge that awaits him. He worries if he can muster up enough skill, strength, and technique to beat the man across from him. Then he remembers "all I can do is all that I can do so my only option is to give it my all". He is emboldened as thoughts run through his head of the obligation that he has to his teammates to do his job. He wants their respect and he knows he must earn it. The lessons of life itself play in his brain in mere microseconds. He doesn't even realize that he already has the program for success to win not only the game on the field that day but the future game that waits for him off the field as well.
To some the starting line of Fall is merely the beginning to the end of Summer. For others it is a rite of passage where young men are given the tools to become grown men. Living with pride, losing with purpose, and winning for others. Some long for the cheer of the crowd, some long for the game, I always think back to the lessons learned from the grizzled coaches who's weathered hands read like a road map to a life worth living.
The game is not perfect and neither are the teachers of it but our memories are pure. Oh how we all wish to be able to buckle up one more time. We can all still smell the grass & hear the band. We can all still taste the bitterness of the loss or the sweetness of the victory. Yet none of us can return to the arena of the awesome battle that is football. So, this is the time when we watch every young player with great detail critiquing his every move not to overly criticize but to relive our own long past opportunities.
What a great game football is. The lessons learned, the glory earned, and the youthful ideals given up to more noble motives.
It is time once again. The old cliche endures that you can literally feel it in the air. Football season is upon us once again. So focus your minds on the great task at hand boys. It's.... about..... to go... down!
There are sore bodies in the locker room giving way to players comparing bruises and scars that have a distinct resemblance of their brothers facemask. The pop of the pads on a football field are as much the modern day coming of age for a young man as any long standing ritual throughout history.
A player puts his hand in the dirt readying himself for the challenge that awaits him. He worries if he can muster up enough skill, strength, and technique to beat the man across from him. Then he remembers "all I can do is all that I can do so my only option is to give it my all". He is emboldened as thoughts run through his head of the obligation that he has to his teammates to do his job. He wants their respect and he knows he must earn it. The lessons of life itself play in his brain in mere microseconds. He doesn't even realize that he already has the program for success to win not only the game on the field that day but the future game that waits for him off the field as well.
To some the starting line of Fall is merely the beginning to the end of Summer. For others it is a rite of passage where young men are given the tools to become grown men. Living with pride, losing with purpose, and winning for others. Some long for the cheer of the crowd, some long for the game, I always think back to the lessons learned from the grizzled coaches who's weathered hands read like a road map to a life worth living.
The game is not perfect and neither are the teachers of it but our memories are pure. Oh how we all wish to be able to buckle up one more time. We can all still smell the grass & hear the band. We can all still taste the bitterness of the loss or the sweetness of the victory. Yet none of us can return to the arena of the awesome battle that is football. So, this is the time when we watch every young player with great detail critiquing his every move not to overly criticize but to relive our own long past opportunities.
What a great game football is. The lessons learned, the glory earned, and the youthful ideals given up to more noble motives.
It is time once again. The old cliche endures that you can literally feel it in the air. Football season is upon us once again. So focus your minds on the great task at hand boys. It's.... about..... to go... down!
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