Thursday Afternoon Gridiron

Mr C took the football field for his first official freshman game last Thursday night.  Thanks to my brother and his wonderful photography skills and kickin camera, we have the photos to prove what a football stud C has become.

He looks so tough in his uniform!  He cheers on the team from the sidelines.  He gets the play from the coach and passes the call onto to the huddle.  All in all, he's a great player.  He jukes so fast that the other players don't even touch him.  He runs the plays just like they are called and is wide open in the backfield waiting for the ball to come into his hands.

Here's where I'll admit I have no idea how to tell which player is in the game; they all look alike in their pads and jersey's.  For the first few plays, I was looking for #8 only to find out that's his away jersey number.  In actuality, he was wearing black #41.  Thankfully, when he was in for a down (doesn't that sound like I know what I'm talking about), he was on our side of the field and I could almost see his face.  Football it's a whole new world, these boys are big and there is a lot of hitting!

One of the joys of early football is that it was about 100 degrees in the shade and sweat was dripping down my face blurring my vision (OK Texas, I know that seems to be your norm lately, but it is unusual here).  I've never been so hot.  I was even sporting a big umbrella over my head in hopes of blocking some of these deadly rays of heat.  I'm becoming "that woman" yikes.  Funny thing is that I know by the time we go to the final game of the season in October, I'll be sitting on the sidelines with a heavy coat, blankets, and gloves.  Love the Midwest.

In all honesty, I've never been more proud of Mr C.  He took the field and sidelines like a pro player.  He didn't complain about the heat or worry that his team was trailing.  He just looked excited to be part of the action.  While they might have walked away with a loss, in so many ways this was a win for the team.  They got better as the game went on and fought until the end scoring a touchdown with just minutes to spare.

Love this boy!  Go Knights!

Friday Night Lights:Mr C's Debut

It's a whole new world. Last Friday night was the first of our adventure into Friday Night Lights, the high school version of football.  Mr C took his first ever steps onto the field to play Wide Receiver in the Black vs Red Scrimmage. I think #8 looks pretty snazzy in his uniform.  I mean tough, rough, and ready for the gridiron of course.

At the Football Parent Meeting and Team Introduction, I started to feel a little more comfortable with the whole football experience. The Head Coach shared his vision for the team, philosophy on how football should be played, and told us his goals.  He also explained that, while the Knight have not exactly had a winning season in a while (3-15 the last two years), he loves the spirit of the team. He loves that the boys are spending so much time in the weight room. That's where the winning begins.

We didn't send Mr C to this school to make him into a football star; but to turn out a well rounded young man. The coach praised the freshman boys on their strong start.  He said they show great promise to build this team going forward.  Watching each player introduce themselves and give their positions and church affiliation, I got a little lump in my throat.  It's going to be exciting to watch Mr C progress into a football player.

My husband commented that he never dreamt that we'd be spending our Friday night (OK really Thursday afternoons-since he's on the freshman and JV reserve teams) watching our son take the football field in a high school uniform.  I didn't either, but I think if I can pray enough, trust enough, and believe in my son and his coach enough, I might just enjoy it.

In all honesty, I wasn't too disappointed that the scrimmage got called early due to lightning.  Of course, according to Mr. C, it not only meant he didn't have to play on the defensive side of the ball, but it also meant that the freshman beat the sophomores 7 to 0.  Go Knights!