Aaaahhhh Football (Act II)
Well, as I mentioned earlier, football season in full swing. Cassidy has had some great games. As with most 14 year old boys, there have been emotional ups and downs in the season. 3 weeks ago he had an amazing game against Smoky Hill, making 5-7 tackles, 2 sacks, and maybe a batted pass. He played well on both offense and defense and (most importantly had fun). Of course all games are fun when you win! The next 2 weeks were vastly different for him. 2 weeks ago, his team trounced the Boulder freshman team 40-13. Now, I have a tendency to brag about my boy’s impressive stature, but I am not the only person awed by it. Cassidy was double and triple teamed all game, in addition to receiving his fair share of low blocks (some legal, some illegal). He was disappointed that he didn’t get any sacks, I told him (as if any father’s condolences are sufficient) that if it took 2-3 people to stop him, then 2 or 3 of his teammates went unblocked. While his voice appreciated the sentiment, his eyes still said he was disappointed to “not be the man!”
On Saturday, due to some ridiculous scheduling, Cassidy’s team was coached by the Varsity coaches. Hmmmm, a talented group of players coached by coaches who have never worked with them, what could possibly go wrong? I might be a little harsh, but I totally blame this loss on the coaches. {RANT ON} It seems that whenever a high school doesn’t plan for an event, the only people who suffer are the kids. Well, our kids suffered plenty. The game went pretty much as scheduled, except for a lower halftime score than we would have liked (13-7 us). Overland hit big, but we played up to their level. Despite a 9 man punt return team (coaches fault for not knowing who was supposed to be where), a 10 man PAT block team (see above), no water for time-outs or on the sidelines (we were even the home team), and a pre-game warm-up that was disorganized (to say the least), we up until the middle of the 4th quarter. With just a few minutes left, our boys drove the ball to the 2 yard line. A handoff up the middle lost 2 yards, twice. So we sit 3rd and goal at the 5 yard line, down by one point. What should have happened, even to the novice football mind: run to the middle of the field to center the ball for a field goal. Kick a field goal of 20-22 yards (our kicker can hit from 35 pretty consistently), go ahead by 2, and hold them defensively for less than 2 minutes. What happened, the coaches call a fade route to the end-zone, which is of course (all together now) intercepted. Luckily, the Ref blew an inadvertent whistle on the run back and prevented a touchdown for the opposition. But our kicker and our team, she doesn’t even get to attempt a game winner, and the boys feel like the have been kicked when they were down. To be fair, the game could have been a bigger loss, but to lose when EVERY player on the field (and every observer on the sideline) knows to kick the field goal, is just heart wrenching. {RANT OFF}
Those who say that it is just a game, have never had to look a hard working group of boys in the eyes, and try to explain why a coach wouldn’t go for the win.
{RE-RANT} To the Overland mom in the pink shirt yelling "GO HOME CREEK" at the end of the game, a couple of suggestions:
1) We were home, you obviously don't know the significance of the white jersey being the "away" jersey. Buy a book, get a map, do something, but learn which team is the "home" team.
2) I may yell about the game, I may yell at the Officials, I may even yell that a player did something illegal...I will never yell a discouraging comment to the players. They work hard, play hard, and shake hands at the end of the game regardless of score. It's called "sportsmanship." I am pretty sure that you could look it up in a dictionary or on-line.
3) If you are going to insist on acting like an a$$, don't wear radically obvious clothing. Someone will be able to tell it's you and say something to you; yeah that was me, and no, I don't care if your husband is there, he rolled his eyes too.
On the flip side, the Colorado Rockies just made it to the World Series! Cassidy will be happy, but he’d still rather win every game he plays…maybe next year.
Well, as I mentioned earlier, football season in full swing. Cassidy has had some great games. As with most 14 year old boys, there have been emotional ups and downs in the season. 3 weeks ago he had an amazing game against Smoky Hill, making 5-7 tackles, 2 sacks, and maybe a batted pass. He played well on both offense and defense and (most importantly had fun). Of course all games are fun when you win! The next 2 weeks were vastly different for him. 2 weeks ago, his team trounced the Boulder freshman team 40-13. Now, I have a tendency to brag about my boy’s impressive stature, but I am not the only person awed by it. Cassidy was double and triple teamed all game, in addition to receiving his fair share of low blocks (some legal, some illegal). He was disappointed that he didn’t get any sacks, I told him (as if any father’s condolences are sufficient) that if it took 2-3 people to stop him, then 2 or 3 of his teammates went unblocked. While his voice appreciated the sentiment, his eyes still said he was disappointed to “not be the man!”
On Saturday, due to some ridiculous scheduling, Cassidy’s team was coached by the Varsity coaches. Hmmmm, a talented group of players coached by coaches who have never worked with them, what could possibly go wrong? I might be a little harsh, but I totally blame this loss on the coaches. {RANT ON} It seems that whenever a high school doesn’t plan for an event, the only people who suffer are the kids. Well, our kids suffered plenty. The game went pretty much as scheduled, except for a lower halftime score than we would have liked (13-7 us). Overland hit big, but we played up to their level. Despite a 9 man punt return team (coaches fault for not knowing who was supposed to be where), a 10 man PAT block team (see above), no water for time-outs or on the sidelines (we were even the home team), and a pre-game warm-up that was disorganized (to say the least), we up until the middle of the 4th quarter. With just a few minutes left, our boys drove the ball to the 2 yard line. A handoff up the middle lost 2 yards, twice. So we sit 3rd and goal at the 5 yard line, down by one point. What should have happened, even to the novice football mind: run to the middle of the field to center the ball for a field goal. Kick a field goal of 20-22 yards (our kicker can hit from 35 pretty consistently), go ahead by 2, and hold them defensively for less than 2 minutes. What happened, the coaches call a fade route to the end-zone, which is of course (all together now) intercepted. Luckily, the Ref blew an inadvertent whistle on the run back and prevented a touchdown for the opposition. But our kicker and our team, she doesn’t even get to attempt a game winner, and the boys feel like the have been kicked when they were down. To be fair, the game could have been a bigger loss, but to lose when EVERY player on the field (and every observer on the sideline) knows to kick the field goal, is just heart wrenching. {RANT OFF}
Those who say that it is just a game, have never had to look a hard working group of boys in the eyes, and try to explain why a coach wouldn’t go for the win.
{RE-RANT} To the Overland mom in the pink shirt yelling "GO HOME CREEK" at the end of the game, a couple of suggestions:
1) We were home, you obviously don't know the significance of the white jersey being the "away" jersey. Buy a book, get a map, do something, but learn which team is the "home" team.
2) I may yell about the game, I may yell at the Officials, I may even yell that a player did something illegal...I will never yell a discouraging comment to the players. They work hard, play hard, and shake hands at the end of the game regardless of score. It's called "sportsmanship." I am pretty sure that you could look it up in a dictionary or on-line.
3) If you are going to insist on acting like an a$$, don't wear radically obvious clothing. Someone will be able to tell it's you and say something to you; yeah that was me, and no, I don't care if your husband is there, he rolled his eyes too.
On the flip side, the Colorado Rockies just made it to the World Series! Cassidy will be happy, but he’d still rather win every game he plays…maybe next year.
posted by augiepete at 11:52 PM
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