It Begins Again.....I love Football!

Uncle Hayden going off to Football practice and the Captain

The Gary Call Family has had a child playing football for 20 years now. Jordan, Nelson and Hayden have all loved it and hated it at times, but the love it side has far exceeded even the toughest times while playing. As a family we have played and watched in the blistering heat, the pouring rain, sleet and snow and extreme cold. We have been off to a game or practice before dawn and arrived home long after the sun has set. We have cheered, and laughed and cried. We have been frustrated and elated with in seconds. We understand responsibility, loyalty and follow through even when it is hard to do. Football has shaped our family and we love it.

We sent Hayden off to play football 9 years ago at age 8, my baby who wanted to "go hit someone." (Older brothers influence). He was a cute little round faced kid who wore glasses, his uniform and pads seemed to dwarf him and make him look even smaller. He is now almost 17 years old and I still think there goes my baby off to "kill 'em or hit 'em hard." His uniform fits better, his shoulders are broad and better able to wear the pads, the glasses are gone as is the little round face. He still wants to "go hit someone" and I guess that is okay, because he only does that on the football field. Tonight begins the BHS Braves Football 2010 season and we are excited to go and be his fan. He has been working hard at football all summer long and will continue to do so daily until the season is over. Hayden will have this year and the next to play football, then we will see what happens. (Our family may then have a break for the next 6 years waiting for the Captain to begin his Football journey.......like it's not going to happen with his father and uncles?) But if he is done after next year or not doesn't really matter I am glad that he has played and that he has loved it.
As a mother I have learned to love having my boys play football. Some mothers think it is so dangerous and rough, and it can be, but the positives it can instill into your kids lives usually far out weighs the danger and the negative aspects. There are a lot of lessons we as a family have all gained because of Football in our lives:
In football we have seen the extra pent up energy and emotion that is usually found in young boys focused in a good way....less beating up the siblings and wrestling during football season. We have had the good coaches and the bad. The good ones are life long friends and great adult male role models. They have taught the boys to work hard and play hard, give it your all, to put in the time and never,never never give up. To finish what you start and most of all to be a good sport. 'The bad one' almost had the whole team quitting and we are not quitters. But we also learned from him, how not to motivate, how to preserver in spite of the situation and how to change things up if they are not good. We have seen the wins and the losses, the championships, the second place finishes and the blanked seasons. Win or lose you learn something about yourself and others....it truly is a growing experience. I think that it is important for your kids to learn that even when you work really hard towards something you may not end up on top. That is life and it is a great lesson to learn early on. Football has instilled a great work ethic in our boys, a team mentality and the knowledge that the stars couldn't be stars with out every member of the team (think the line, the scout team, etc...). Being a member of a team is a good life lesson, you learn how to get along and work with others even if you may not like the people on the team, you learn how to work together for the good of the team, or the job, or the cause etc... Football has taught goal setting in a very simplistic way; 10 yards and 4 downs at a time.... And the joy of obtaining the goal after you put in the work...sometimes you reach the goal quickly and other times it takes a lot of long hard work. It takes a lot of practice to be good and to become better. The lazy don't last. The gifted still need to practice. Lucky breaks come with hard work and time. The friendships that have been made have been because of football are one of the best things I have seen come from playing the game. In little league you are playing with kids from all over, from all backgrounds and situations. You interact with each other in the fun times and in high pressure situations. You learn who are the types of guys you can depend on and who has your back. You understand the importance of making a friend out of almost anyone on the team in football. Both Jordan and Nelson have mentioned how much of what they learned in football helped them on their missions, with companions, their zones and the members: we are all on a 'team' of some kind, each of us with different responsibilities. Football has given our boys a sense of who they are in those tough jr. high years. A place to be, a pack to run with.
When people talk negative about football I get kind of defensive. Like anything the bad stuff makes better news and is easier to get people emotional about. To me the good that has come from football for our family will always out shine the crap that may be associated with it.
Good luck to Hayden and the Braves this 2010 season!
MCC