Growing up, I always wanted to play football. I would play with my friends at recess or in someone’s backyard, having some of the best moments of my childhood. However, my parents didn’t let me play. Throughout middle school I’d watch my friends play, and eventually considered asking my parents again after failing to convince them for years. Before the signing day in eighth grade, my brother (a junior at the time) and I convinced our parents to let us play.
It was nerve-wracking heading into the first couple practices, having no real experience with the sport outside of backyard football. It was hard to get used to at first, but the sport was growing on me. Summer practices were a ton of fun and just being with the team was awesome. It was my first time being on a team that big, and building connections and friendships with everyone was easier than it had been for me in baseball and hockey as a kid. It was also super easy to make friends with upperclassmen and guys that had been playing their whole lives. You would think it would be intimidating as a freshman, but all of the older guys were great and mentored the young players. It also helped a ton to have my senior brother playing, as I was familiar with most of the guys in his grade that played.
As the summer ended and our first game was approaching, I was very nervous. I had no idea what to expect playing an actual game of a sport I had never played before. Our freshman team headed out to Simley on a long bus ride. It was scary seeing the other team walk up to the field. They seemed huge. The first play of the game was a kickoff that I received in the back and returned for a good amount. I got tackled for the first time and from there I wasn’t nervous, I was just playing. The game flew by. We scored touchdown after touchdown on them and our defense made a ton of stops. I was gassed by the end of the game after playing most of it, but our team was electric on the way home. We were super excited to get that first win under our belt. We had ups and downs for the rest of the year and ended up 3-5, but it was a ton of fun and I had learned a lot.
At the end of the year, the varsity head coach called me and a handful of other guys up to be on the section’s roster. I was happy to take the opportunity and excited to practice and play with varsity for the remainder of the season. We beat Southwest in the first round of sections at home, and it was super cool to experience as a freshman. The next weekend, we were set to play at Armstrong, the same team that beat us last year in sections. The energy was different heading into that game. We started off strong, scoring on the first two drives, but the game slowly started slipping away after they scored on us and stopped our offense. As time ran out, they celebrated and we walked off disappointed. It was very emotional to finish the last game of the season, especially for the seniors. At the end of the game they lined up and the rest of the team embraced them one after another. It was special for my brother and I to play a year together and it was sad for us too. It was a very bittersweet moment for everyone, and one I’ll never forget. Overall, it was a great year. I was skeptical heading into the season, but ultimately I was very happy that I took the risk to play football.
