As our season ended earlier than we wanted my mind filled with memories of everything this team accomplished this season. I thought back to the games we won, the practices we had, and my time with the kids. I looked around at the excitement on display by the team that won, and the dejection on the faces of my team. I looked into the stands to see the band, the cheerleaders, the families, and the friends that all stayed until the end to send the boys home one more time. I walked to the locker room and listened to the coaches and the players say their goodbyes to the 2016 team and challenge the 2017 team.
While listening to each story and looking into the faces of the team and the coaches I realized the one thing each kid expressed that makes high school football
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great….the hurt is what makes it great. High school football brings together a group of young men who will spend the better part of their year preparing their bodies and minds for the pursuit of a goal that only very few of the teams will achieve.
These men will push themselves in the off-season and summer in ways that do not seem humanly possible. They will sacrifice their time that could be spent with family, friends, or studying in order to practice for each game. They will live and die by the results of their efforts on the field every Friday night, with a win creating an exhilarating feeling of invincibility, and a loss leaving behind the feeling of letting down your closest family member.
Some days you feel anger or hate depending on how you performed, what happened in practice, or something Coach said to you. Other days you feel pride and joy because of the effort you gave, the way Coach praised you, or by what the team accomplished. The emotions you feel from being a member of the football team, the football community, are real and on display each practice, each game, hell, every day you are a member of the team. These feelings, these emotions define you because you invest everything into being on the football
team. And being on the team, no matter your role, is really what it all boils down to. To steal from Bo Schembechler, everything you do is because of The Team. You show up to practice because of the team. You push yourself all off-season because of the team. You put everything on the line because you are a member of this team, and you will do everything you can to not let your team down. You’ve built relationships with each player and coach on the sideline during games, on the field in practice, or in the locker room every day that give meaning to the season no matter how it ends. You love your team and your team loves you, because you have gone through this experience together. Love is why these young men come together, stay together, and fight together for the better part of their high school years. They start with love of the game and finish with loving something bigger than them. They love their teammates, their coaches, and they love the entirety of The Team. They love so much it hurts….and when the season is over, when this team has played its final game together it hurts…..and the hurt is what makes it great.
“‘Athletics last for such a short period of time. It ends for people. But while it lasts, it creates this make-believe world where normal rules don’t apply. We build this false atmosphere. When it’s over and the harsh reality sets in, that’s the real joke we play on people’” (Bissinger xiv). “Friday Night Lights” shows the darker side of high school football. Players are taught to play games to win, and thats all that matters. Football players are put under a tremendous amount of pressure, almost enough to be considered unfair. Even though football is a “team sport”, pressure on individual players is unnecessary. Some players have the burden of the team, the city, their family, and their future, resting on their shoulders. These players are put under pressure that is physically and emotionally damaging, not to mention future ruining.
Despite a dominant 40-10 win against the San Fransisco 49ers, it is not all good news for the Dallas Cowboys looking back on Sunday evening’s showing. The Dallas Cowboy’s lost All-Pro kicker, Dan Bailey, mid game, due to a groin strain in his kicking leg. It was announced this morning that Bailey could be out for several weeks while recovering.
These players, with the help of Coach Courtney, transformed into selfless team members that went on to show that Manassas football is not dead through determination, character, discipline, and commitment. They show that if you want something bad enough, then you have to do the necessary work to make that happen. Although, this is shown through the perspective of football, it can be applied to anything that one wishes to accomplish in life.
American Football is a huge spectator sport where offensive and defensive players will use teamwork and perseverance to try and score more points than their opponent. Football is highly respected in America, where boys will try and pursue the dream of playing in the NFL (National Football Association) someday; but if you look at an average neighborhood, you will find that kids and adults of all ages love to go out and throw around the pigskin. (Lerner and Lerner 275). One thing Americans will take pride in is the college and NFL football teams they root for. People sit down with a beer and talk hours upon hours of football and two individuals can get in a heated discussion in the local sports store of whose sports team is better. 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. After their team plays, they will go out and reminisce what happened that Sunday. While thousands of fans are still pumped from the NFL games they watched; small towns across America are getting ready to shut down their shops and restaurants to have the chance to make it to the local high schools football game. Ray Glier, a reporter for the New York Times, writes about football in the small town of Appala...
“Maybe I´m stupid or whatever, but to me if I got a concussion, if I could see straight and carry a football, then I´m not telling anybody”, Ricky Williams, NFL Football player. The argument about whether kids should play football or not is an important topic to argue. People need to understand that the concussions and other injuries are more serious with young kids. The problem is that many people think that it could be stopped by not allowing kids to play at all. Although parents can reduce risk of injury by not allowing their kids to play football, parents should let their children play football because it lets kids follow their dreams, it helps kids become more mature and independant, and if kids use proper technique they can reduce injuries.
Levin, Paige and Dakin Andone. Teenage football players kicked off team for kneeling during anthem. CNN, 10/1/17, https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/01/us/high-school-football-kicked-off-protest/index.html.
Football is a game of adversity and emotion. People who have not played a sport or follow one closely don’t understand the emotion behind game. They think that football is just a game, but for those who are involved with the team don’t think so. All those horrendous hours of countless preparation are for something players and coaches love. About a few years ago, a football player at the collegiate level was told that he wouldn’t be able to play another down of football again due to his banged up h...
High school football may be dangerous but it is also a life altering experience. From what these boys can do out on the field to what they can become in life and all the things they can accomplish, putting it in peoples head that it is a dangerous sport is ridiculous. Yes, football can cause some serious injury but those chances aren’t very high and what are these boys going to get out of life if they never take that risk? Then end up asking themselves, “what if?” These boys should not let anything get in the way of what they want to do because even if they fail
When people think about football players they usually picture them as an angry, violent, muscular jock. However, these stereotypes are not always true. Most football players are caring, down to Earth, average people just like the rest of their peers. Many misconceptions have been created due to the handful of football players that actually fit the stereotype. These blind assumptions can be hurtful and overwhelming at times. Sure, there are some football players that fit the stereotypes, but that is common with every stereotypical group. Not all football players are the dumb, good looking, star player that you see portrayed in the movies, they are much more than that; they are intelligent, hard working, and motivated individuals.
All four years of high school I worked behind the scenes on and off the football field. From handing out jerseys and pants, measuring boys constantly for belts, adjusting helmets, patching minor cuts, along with trying to keep our ever so famous title we created as “H20 Technicians” by meeting all of the teams hydrating needs. So, from this angle I saw and heard everything. Even the things boys would not typically share with girls. That is one of the many “perks” of being one of four football managers. When I graduated high school and came back to Putnam County for my first Cougar football game since last season, I realized I had never actually watched a football game. Therefore, I decided to watch the game from a fans point of view. A much more muted version of the game. Watching the game as fan was like holding season tickets with sideline seats for the last four years and on the fifth year watching all the games on a dingy old black and white TV.
Some schools force students to participate in organized school sports. However, I believe that schools should not make this a requirement. Some students may have medical conditions, family situations that don't allow them to participate in organized school sports, or they simply may not have the time.
Student athletes live very busy lives. A typical school day runs from 8:00-2:30, add in a two- hour practice or game, score a part time job, dive into some family time, a grand slam of homework and catch a little bit of sleep. Students are more stressed due to the many activities they are a part of. This issue affects a lot of people not only in this school district, but most other high schools throughout the country. All student athletes exercise more than other children who are not involved in an extracurricular sport. In school athletics, the players are called “student athletes” meaning that school activities come first. There are strict rules for student athletes, not only on the field but in the classroom as well. In physical education
Once again, after a successful season, Shadle Park was defeated by a Big 9 school in the first game of the regional tournament. This reoccurring event has led many to believe that the four year football program puts GSL students at a disadvantage compared to other districts. A junior high school football program would not only increase the competitiveness of the students but also have more important consequences.
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.
If anyone has ever been in a competitive sport, then they know what if feels like to be in an intense game. At times, winning can be the only thing on your mind, the most important goal of your team. As a football player, every win we achieved as a team brought on a rush of enthusiasm and energy. It was one of the best feelings in the world at the time. In fact, I would say winning was all I cared about in every game I played in. Of course, that didn’t happen, we lost almost every game my final season of football before I transitioned into the band program, but winning was all that mattered to me.