FOOTBALL...
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| Before the game...2012 Nampa PAL Championship Game, Nampa High School "Bulldog Stadium" |
In our house you say "football" and it means Taylor having 1 hour after Jazz Band practice to eat, do homework, and change into gear before he hops on his bike and heads down the hill to do drills and work hard until 7:30 at night. It means Andy is finishing up with his last patient of the day to rush home and change out of his dockers and into warm-up pants and a sweatshirt and rush down the hill to help coach Tay's team. It means I am washing dirty mud and grass-stained uniforms twice a week. It means that we're talking through plays in the kitchen at meal-times, and it means that I will walk around the corner into the kitchen to find Andy and Taylor facing each other in 3-point stance firing out against each other. And sometimes it means that 30 minutes before a church meeting, I find myself in the backyard wearing a skirt and kicking off my 3 1/2 inch heels to play catch with my son.
I wouldn't be completely honest if I said it wasn't about the win...because it certainly is. And this year, Taylor's team won the title of 2012 Nampa PAL Junior Tackle Champions. And they definitely deserved it. But for me, for the mama in the stands...the biggest part is not the win. It's the thrill of watching my son in each play make a hit, sack the quarterback, make a beautiful kick on kickoff, or make a catch in the end zone for a 2 point conversion. It doesn't matter to me where he plays or what the other boys do...for me it's all about him. The game is his position...every play, every time. And having his dad help coach the team is an added bonus. I get to watch two of my boys down there. Andy striding along the sidelines, and Taylor out on the field. I love it all. Football...it's about a lot of things.
I asked Andy and Taylor individually what Football meant to them...and this is what they said...this is what it's all about.
Andy says it's all about:
TEAM
EXECUTION
TENACITY
GRIT
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| Tay making it through the O-line to make a tackle. |
SPEED
EXPLOSION
DESIRE
WINNING
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| Tay and Andy after the game |
GETTING BETTER
TO GET UP WHEN YOU'RE DOWN
TO FIGHT WHEN YOU'RE BEATEN
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| Tay at kickoff...beautiful 40 yd kick to the 20 yd line. Perfect. |
THE POP
SATISFACTION FROM EXPLOITING THE OTHER TEAM'S WEAKNESSES AND EXCENTUATING YOUR STRENGTHS
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| Taylor and Coach Andy waiting on sideline, end of game. |
ACCOMPLISHMENT
GETTING IN SHAPE
HARD PRACTICES
WHEN YOUR BEST IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU AND YOU WIN
And Taylor says it's all about:
ATTITUDE
HOW TOUGH YOU ARE
DURABILITY
ABILITY TO HANDLE THE BALL
WORK HARD TO GET THINGS DONE
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| Team huddle |
TEAMWORK/ NOT A ONE-MAN THING
NOT TO GIVE UP
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| Stopping your man. No matter what. |
THE HIT
COMPETITION
THE CHALLENGE
IT'S JUST FUN
FUN TO BE A PART OF THE TEAM
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| Cheering his teammates during the trophy ceremony |
TO HELP TO VICTORY
FRIENDSHIP
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| pre-game lineup with one of his best friends, Brett Ashcraft |
DRILLS
BUILDING SKILLS
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| 2012 Nampa PAL Champions! (photo courtesy of Emily Flint) |
Here they are...after a season of hard work and determination...our team not only came out Champions, but they were undefeated all season and only had two touchdowns scored on them. Way to go guys!
What else is Football all about? The fans!
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| We're number one! |
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| Matthew...always cheering on big brother Tay. |
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| Tay's cousins Lexie, Carson, and Kylie came too! |
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| Uncle Kyle and Aunt Ashleigh's family and Grandma and Grandpa Belnap came to cheer Tay on! |
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| And of course proud parents...Rachel and Brooklynn had basketball games, and Lainah was sick. |
Football...that's what it's all about.
1 comment:
I just caught up on all your posts. So glad you are back to blogging. Hope all is well!
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