Welcome to the cKotch.Com blog. I’m Christopher Kotcher, and this is my humble experience with high school football. For any international readers, I do mean American football.
Never a Student-Athlete
I was preparing to go to high school at a fine place called St. Mary’s.
During one of the events for incoming freshmen, my family ran into Glow, the headmaster at the time. He asked me if I would be going out for the school’s football team.
Sports are big at St. Mary’s. Pretty much anyone not on the field is expected in the stands. With me being a bigger guy, Glow thought I would fit better on the field.
I protested the idea.
I had not played a sport since T-ball. When everyone got a trophy.
I barely ever even watched football outside of the Superbowl. The Detroit Lions barely ever gave me a good reason during the season.
Finally, I have a dumb tendency to resist some of the best things which ever happen to me.
Thankfully, my parents ignored my protests in favor of Glow’s recommendation.
Sleepless Summer
Football work started early that summer.
I would need to be at the St. Mary’s weight room at about 6:00 AM three times each week.
Getting up early in summer was one thing. Going to bed early so I could function that early was what really annoyed me. I was losing some of my favorite parts of summer for something I did not want to do.
Still, my parents proved unwilling to listen to my protests. I had to go along with things and make the best of them. At the very least, this would be a good source of exercise.
Our strength coach assumed no one really knew anything about lifting weights. That was certainly true in my case.
He went step-by-step through everything. He wanted to make sure we did everything right. Both to get stronger and to ensure we did not hurt ourselves.
I could barely lift half the weight the other guys could. So, I focused all the more on form. At least I could try to get that right.
I took a similar approach to running exercises. Usually, I was the last to finish. So, I did what I could to follow instructions and start on time.
All in all, the experience drained me every time, but I still saw the work improve me.
Freshmen Friends
I grew to know my teammates.
I learned which schools they came from and discovered what classes they would be taking.
Many even started helping me during conditioning.
On campus loops, leaders of the pack would double back to jog alongside me. When running through bags, my team would cheer me on and keep me hyped.
I even got to help them out a few times.
Best (and most embarrassing) example would be during the two-a-day practices before school started.
We needed to pack a meal to eat between practices. Somehow, I was one of the few to eat sensibly. Just a few crackers and peanut butter. Almost everyone else grabbed burgers and pizzas from the school concessions stand. One guy even brought a meatball sub with mustard and mayo.
I became the one to lead the pack that day. Everyone else was too busy dealing with the turmoil in their stomachs.
Early dietary mistakes aside though, our freshmen team did do well.
We tied or beat many teams which were expected to beat us. I barely played, but I was still in on a few good moments.
One time, one of our running backs was getting dogpiled. The other linemen and I pushed the pile forward a few more yards before the play could end. Referee had to stare close at us. He had no idea when he would need to blow his whistle.
We also flocked to the student section for the varsity games.
Varsity’s season that year was somewhat mixed. Still, they reached the state championship. They lost, but they came close to ending a decade-long championship drought.
Onto JV
The second year would be football’s roughest.
Many of our best players from freshmen year were moved to varsity. The rest of us on JV all needed to step up.
Expectations were higher for all of us. I was not always able to meet them myself. I could have done far more to step up for my team that year.
My only good play was a single tackle near the season’s end. I stopped the kid cold.
Otherwise, I hardly ever held up a block well enough. People often broke past me on the point-after-touchdown team.
Our record showed the season’s challenges. This was our only losing season.
At least those on varsity put in some good work. They helped the team get closer to that state championship victory, but still not quite close enough.
Varsity Victory
Everything had come together.
Our former freshmen team was together again. We had a good group of seniors leading us alongside our coaches.
I still played rarely, but I cared more for the team’s victory than my own playtime.
I did whatever I could. Whether that be discussing plays with teammates or hyping up the sidelines.
Once again, we beat many teams which were expected to beat us. We kept fighting all the way to the state championships, and this time, we won.
I still remember how we partied and laughed together on the bus ride back to school.
That next Monday, Glow stopped me in the hall. He said he was glad I took his advice to join football. I had to agree.
And to think, if my parents did not push me, I would have never gotten my championship ring.
The Final Season
We had become champions. Now we had to do it again.
Our former freshmen team was now the seniors. We need to step up like never before. Our underclassmen were looking to us for leadership.
We played our hearts out. Even beat two of the past year’s other state champions from the other football divisions.
I had a few more good plays than previous years. Made some nice tackles and chased a few ball carriers to the sidelines.
Still, I mainly stuck to sideline hype. Those who had always played football were still the best our team had to offer. That did not matter to me. I only cared that the team was doing its best.
We reached the state championships again. This time, we faced a team unlike any other. Never before had one of our games had so much back-and-forth. Touchdown happened after touchdown after touchdown. Field goals filled almost all the time in between touchdowns.
This was the greatest game we ever played. This would be a far greater victory than last year.
Then we lost in overtime.
All the hype deflated when the other team rushed the field in celebration. Our last game ended in a loss. Our team’s final moments ended in defeat.
We returned to the bus in silence.
We would never be champions together again.
I looked out the bus on the way back to school and thought back through the years. Where I started, where we wound up. Friendships made and tested. Struggles shared together.
I saw all of it again in my mind’s eye.
Those years inspired me.
I grabbed my phone and made a Facebook post. A post detailing everything I felt for the team. A post which is one of the greatest things I have ever written.
Now that I am working on a collection of poems, I had to adapt the thing into verse. “Good Stuff” would not feel complete without it.
Kotcher’s Call to Action
That is right. The title of my poetry collection has now been announced. In full, it will be called “Good Stuff: 50 Poems from Youth.” The work is almost finished. I will have it ready within the next few weeks. For now, how about a look at the eBook cover?
Also, my football post-turned poem has been added to the cKotch.Com portfolio. Please enjoy “Football Post.”
Finally, if you like my content and wish to see more, then you have a few options.
You could check out my first book, Five Strange Stories, on Amazon. Five Strange Stories is enrolled in the Kindle Matchbook program, so anyone who buys the paperback can also get the eBook for free.
You can also check my Essential Posts page for links to some of my greatest posts to the cKotch.Com blog.
Finally, be sure to like my Facebook page and share it with your friends. I post a link there whenever a new blog post goes live each Friday at 5:00 PM EST.
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