It's funny...I couldn't wait for this day, and now it's come and gone and I'm kind of sad. The day...well, the last day of Pop Warner Football of course!
I have two younger boys playing ball this year. It's the first year for both of them. My youngest has been bugging us for years to play. He's 7 and this is the first year he's allowed to play. He asked Santa for pads last year - a year before he could play on a team. So of course Santa brought both he and his 11 year old brother full football pads/helmets...the works.
They spent hours out in the yard tackling each other. I have to be honest - I loved it. I played football as a kid and hockey as I got older. I like contact sports. I'm one of those guys that likes the physical hitting. The crack of pads against each other. I know...sick right? :o)
Anyway, my younger son Jacob is around 40lbs lighter than his brother Dylan. But he would hit him hard - drilling him. He'd bring him down hard and delight in it. We couldn't wait until the season started to see him in his 'element'.
Dylan however is more of a technical type kid. A math wiz, a thinker...not so much of a physical type kid - though an excellent athlete. Dylan runs distance with ease and is great at Baseball. We just weren't sure how he'd hold up under the pressure of coaching and the physical punishment dolled out on the field. It turned out because he is fairly light weight for his age - that he played down a division in what they call "older-but-lighter".
Imagine our surprise when Jacob came home from practice saying it was "ok" not great. Saying he didn't want to play next year and showed general disinterest in playing. We watched practices from a distance - nothing going on at practice (like poor coaching or bullying). He is small for his age and was the second smallest on his team. At 7, he was also the youngest on his team with most of the boys being 8 or 9 years old. But we still thought he' revel in the sport. He just didn't.
He played his minimum required 10 plays a game, sometimes more. He was a wide receiver and they call that a 'skill' position, but really at this level it's a blocking position for sweeping runs, as the quarterbacks are usually too young and weak to pass the ball effectively, certainly not to a wide-out.
It was such a surprise to us, and to Jacob. He can't wait for Baseball to start and he's actually practicing with his tournament team once a week. He loves baseball and has played for several years at the All-Star level. I think he thought he'd be an All-Star at football, and when he wasn't it really took the wind out of his sails. We tried to encourage him, but the lesson in humility was a great lesson for this cocky young man. I think he'll play football again, even if it's not next season. He is an incredibly gifted athlete, and as he gets older we'll delight in seeing him put those skills to use in different arenas.
Ok, that's Jacob's story - but the real story here... the shocker, is Dylan. Dylan was immediately seen as one of the quicker boys on his team. He was the starting tight-end immediately and they used him often as an outlet for the QB. He LOVED playing tight-end. He loved practicing. He came home telling of the big 'hit' he delivered in practice or even the licking he took now and then. We were so happily surprised at his joy.
But wait - it gets better. It turns out, probably the best athlete on his team was the quarterback. And having at QB really limited his ability to run the ball - at least at this level. So
they went to the next best they had - Dylan. After practicing for nearly 6 weeks at one position they switched him from tight-end to starting quarterback. He was absolutely dilerious with pride and joy! It was fun to watch him.
He did have some serious growing pains in his new position. Remeber, this was his first season ever playing football, and certainly had no practice at quarterback. But he's a smart kid, a good leader, and works hard. He had some rough weeks, dropping snap after snap. Pitching the ball back to non-existant running backs because he mis-called a play. But it got better, and better and soon things started to click.
The team didn't have a winning season overall, but for Dylan it was stellar. He started throwing completions, running the ball himself for 1st downs, and making good calls and plays with the old QB who was now his primary running back.
As the season wore on, attrition took its toll on the team and what was a lean team in terms of numbers dwindled. They found themselves short on players and soon Dylan was playing both ways - as starting QB and on defense as a safety or linebacker. He was leading his team, had worked through adversity and it shows in the way he carries himself. He talks "team" and "we", not me and I.
This is why kids play sports (in my opinion). They learn, grow, get stronger and smarter and learn about life while they have a ton of fun. Football...I love it - can you tell?
I have two younger boys playing ball this year. It's the first year for both of them. My youngest has been bugging us for years to play. He's 7 and this is the first year he's allowed to play. He asked Santa for pads last year - a year before he could play on a team. So of course Santa brought both he and his 11 year old brother full football pads/helmets...the works.
They spent hours out in the yard tackling each other. I have to be honest - I loved it. I played football as a kid and hockey as I got older. I like contact sports. I'm one of those guys that likes the physical hitting. The crack of pads against each other. I know...sick right? :o)
Anyway, my younger son Jacob is around 40lbs lighter than his brother Dylan. But he would hit him hard - drilling him. He'd bring him down hard and delight in it. We couldn't wait until the season started to see him in his 'element'.Dylan however is more of a technical type kid. A math wiz, a thinker...not so much of a physical type kid - though an excellent athlete. Dylan runs distance with ease and is great at Baseball. We just weren't sure how he'd hold up under the pressure of coaching and the physical punishment dolled out on the field. It turned out because he is fairly light weight for his age - that he played down a division in what they call "older-but-lighter".
Imagine our surprise when Jacob came home from practice saying it was "ok" not great. Saying he didn't want to play next year and showed general disinterest in playing. We watched practices from a distance - nothing going on at practice (like poor coaching or bullying). He is small for his age and was the second smallest on his team. At 7, he was also the youngest on his team with most of the boys being 8 or 9 years old. But we still thought he' revel in the sport. He just didn't.
He played his minimum required 10 plays a game, sometimes more. He was a wide receiver and they call that a 'skill' position, but really at this level it's a blocking position for sweeping runs, as the quarterbacks are usually too young and weak to pass the ball effectively, certainly not to a wide-out.It was such a surprise to us, and to Jacob. He can't wait for Baseball to start and he's actually practicing with his tournament team once a week. He loves baseball and has played for several years at the All-Star level. I think he thought he'd be an All-Star at football, and when he wasn't it really took the wind out of his sails. We tried to encourage him, but the lesson in humility was a great lesson for this cocky young man. I think he'll play football again, even if it's not next season. He is an incredibly gifted athlete, and as he gets older we'll delight in seeing him put those skills to use in different arenas.
Ok, that's Jacob's story - but the real story here... the shocker, is Dylan. Dylan was immediately seen as one of the quicker boys on his team. He was the starting tight-end immediately and they used him often as an outlet for the QB. He LOVED playing tight-end. He loved practicing. He came home telling of the big 'hit' he delivered in practice or even the licking he took now and then. We were so happily surprised at his joy.
But wait - it gets better. It turns out, probably the best athlete on his team was the quarterback. And having at QB really limited his ability to run the ball - at least at this level. So
they went to the next best they had - Dylan. After practicing for nearly 6 weeks at one position they switched him from tight-end to starting quarterback. He was absolutely dilerious with pride and joy! It was fun to watch him.He did have some serious growing pains in his new position. Remeber, this was his first season ever playing football, and certainly had no practice at quarterback. But he's a smart kid, a good leader, and works hard. He had some rough weeks, dropping snap after snap. Pitching the ball back to non-existant running backs because he mis-called a play. But it got better, and better and soon things started to click.
The team didn't have a winning season overall, but for Dylan it was stellar. He started throwing completions, running the ball himself for 1st downs, and making good calls and plays with the old QB who was now his primary running back.
As the season wore on, attrition took its toll on the team and what was a lean team in terms of numbers dwindled. They found themselves short on players and soon Dylan was playing both ways - as starting QB and on defense as a safety or linebacker. He was leading his team, had worked through adversity and it shows in the way he carries himself. He talks "team" and "we", not me and I.
This is why kids play sports (in my opinion). They learn, grow, get stronger and smarter and learn about life while they have a ton of fun. Football...I love it - can you tell?
That's a happy kid!
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