Life’s hard; so is high school football
By Joe Angelino
In the hot August dog-days all over Upstate New York, young men are sweating under the load of protective football gear preparing for their first game of the 2017 gridiron season. Each school district has other fall sports teams, boys, girls and co-ed, sharing in the same August heat. All of high school sports are important for the teenage learning process, but football is the only organized sport I played and feel scantily qualified to comment upon. My football skills were mediocre at best. Given my skill set, heavy and slow, my aspiration was to be an offensive tackle. But there was no way I was going to play with any regularity because of the luck of being a classmate with the late Tim Conron who also played that position with great talent. I did get some time on the defensive line, again my skill set worked well at plugging holes.
Here’s just a sample of what I learned participating in high school football. In the fall of 1977 I learned about “pulling guards” while working the “Purple D Line”. Falling into the pulling guard trap is best described in person, so I’ll skip trying to describe the jarring results in writing. But, the lesson learned about pulling guards has stayed with me nearly forty years. Many other lessons learned playing high school football stayed with me and most certainly shaped my adult future. Of course family upbringing has the greatest influence on the future personality of a child, and school teachers also have a large role with students becoming successful adults. But it is organized sports, coached well, that teaches life lessons that just can’t be taught in classrooms, or anywhere else.
The teen years are the last chance to develop a young person’s traits that will last for their lifetime, and football serves us all well in that respect. High school football demands personal discipline, obedience, mental alertness and physical toughness, not a bad trait among them. Unless methods have changed since my days, playing high school football is probably the first time in a young man’s life that he is taught how to perform a task, pushed hard to perform it better and disciplined with running laps, sprints or push-ups when not performing up to their capacity. In other words, if you don’t live up to your potential, you will pay the price for slacking off. The “one team, no individuals” concept in team sports, particularly football with its goal line at the end of the field, make a perfect analogy for just about any chosen career. Football teaches us not to be a prima donna, and how to deal with and persuade others to not be one. The young men on the field learn how bad it is to be accused of, or being caught giving, a cheap shot to an opposing team player. If you give a cheap shot, you will quickly learn payback is a …. certainty.
The most important factor in teaching the life lessons in high school football is the coach or coaches. The head coach is probably paid, his assistants and position coaches may not be paid, but they are all there for the love of the game and the privilege of being a mentor to young men. Of course the coaches teach skills to win games, but there is so much more important knowledge they are imparting if they are doing it right. The coach should lead by example, knowing dozens of eyes are watching his every move. Not only should coaches teach skills to win with class, but also how to lose with dignity and pride intact. A coach taught me just because someone is angry and yells at you, doesn’t mean that person dislikes you, and it’s probably just the opposite. The coach is yelling because he knows you can do better.
High school football may very well be the last fun group event in which these athletes will take part. Only a few high school players will continue to play at the college level, and realistically a miniscule amount will have the skill to play professionally. Those who do play high school football are learning life lessons that others their age won’t learn until after college, if at all. Things like leadership, teamwork and how to be a good follower. A coach can only do so much on the sidelines and will rely upon player-leaders. On the field a player-leader will encourage his teammates when things appear bleak and be the first to celebrate when things are going well. We’ve all seen how a player-leader can even inspire the fans in the bleachers with his enthusiasm and up swinging arms.
Football team members learn the value of practice and how practicing hard improves performance on game day, when it counts. They are learning accountability by having a striped shirt referee single them out with a shrill whistle, a bright flag and a pointing finger when they run afoul of the rules. When an individual who doesn’t have his head in the game breaks a rule in football the whole teams gets moved back. That’s a feeling no one wants to repeat. Being one of eleven players on a field, with hundreds of people watching and scores of cameras pointed in your direction is a good way to learn there are no shortcuts to success, there’s no place to hide, so you better be giving one hundred percent.
The seniors on the team should soak up every bit of this season that their brains will allow. Chances are, after high school they will never do anything like this again, so take it all in. Besides my lesson of the pulling guard, another thing that has stayed in my memory all these years was the sight of a group of guys on the field who played so hard, steam was visible rising off their bodies. Once you see that, you won’t forget it. I plan to attend as many high school games as possible, in Norwich and other school’s home games in the county. I’ll be watching the linemen of course and in the chill of late fall games, I’ll be watching for the sight of steam rising from the players. To paraphrase Bruce Springsteen, I’ll be reliving my Glory Days. More importantly, I want to support the teams and so should you. To help you attend and support high school sports events, most Chenango County schools are using www.schedulegalaxy.com to publish schedule information about all of their sports teams. Check the webpage for your favorite school and go watch the sport of your choice. I’ll leave you with these words no one has ever heard spoken by a high school football player; “man, I’m wish I never played football.”
If you have a comment, complaint or compliment you are welcome to leave it in 140 characters or less on Twitter @josephangelino.
In the hot August dog-days all over Upstate New York, young men are sweating under the load of protective football gear preparing for their first game of the 2017 gridiron season. Each school district has other fall sports teams, boys, girls and co-ed, sharing in the same August heat. All of high school sports are important for the teenage learning process, but football is the only organized sport I played and feel scantily qualified to comment upon. My football skills were mediocre at best. Given my skill set, heavy and slow, my aspiration was to be an offensive tackle. But there was no way I was going to play with any regularity because of the luck of being a classmate with the late Tim Conron who also played that position with great talent. I did get some time on the defensive line, again my skill set worked well at plugging holes.
Here’s just a sample of what I learned participating in high school football. In the fall of 1977 I learned about “pulling guards” while working the “Purple D Line”. Falling into the pulling guard trap is best described in person, so I’ll skip trying to describe the jarring results in writing. But, the lesson learned about pulling guards has stayed with me nearly forty years. Many other lessons learned playing high school football stayed with me and most certainly shaped my adult future. Of course family upbringing has the greatest influence on the future personality of a child, and school teachers also have a large role with students becoming successful adults. But it is organized sports, coached well, that teaches life lessons that just can’t be taught in classrooms, or anywhere else.
The teen years are the last chance to develop a young person’s traits that will last for their lifetime, and football serves us all well in that respect. High school football demands personal discipline, obedience, mental alertness and physical toughness, not a bad trait among them. Unless methods have changed since my days, playing high school football is probably the first time in a young man’s life that he is taught how to perform a task, pushed hard to perform it better and disciplined with running laps, sprints or push-ups when not performing up to their capacity. In other words, if you don’t live up to your potential, you will pay the price for slacking off. The “one team, no individuals” concept in team sports, particularly football with its goal line at the end of the field, make a perfect analogy for just about any chosen career. Football teaches us not to be a prima donna, and how to deal with and persuade others to not be one. The young men on the field learn how bad it is to be accused of, or being caught giving, a cheap shot to an opposing team player. If you give a cheap shot, you will quickly learn payback is a …. certainty.
The most important factor in teaching the life lessons in high school football is the coach or coaches. The head coach is probably paid, his assistants and position coaches may not be paid, but they are all there for the love of the game and the privilege of being a mentor to young men. Of course the coaches teach skills to win games, but there is so much more important knowledge they are imparting if they are doing it right. The coach should lead by example, knowing dozens of eyes are watching his every move. Not only should coaches teach skills to win with class, but also how to lose with dignity and pride intact. A coach taught me just because someone is angry and yells at you, doesn’t mean that person dislikes you, and it’s probably just the opposite. The coach is yelling because he knows you can do better.
High school football may very well be the last fun group event in which these athletes will take part. Only a few high school players will continue to play at the college level, and realistically a miniscule amount will have the skill to play professionally. Those who do play high school football are learning life lessons that others their age won’t learn until after college, if at all. Things like leadership, teamwork and how to be a good follower. A coach can only do so much on the sidelines and will rely upon player-leaders. On the field a player-leader will encourage his teammates when things appear bleak and be the first to celebrate when things are going well. We’ve all seen how a player-leader can even inspire the fans in the bleachers with his enthusiasm and up swinging arms.
Football team members learn the value of practice and how practicing hard improves performance on game day, when it counts. They are learning accountability by having a striped shirt referee single them out with a shrill whistle, a bright flag and a pointing finger when they run afoul of the rules. When an individual who doesn’t have his head in the game breaks a rule in football the whole teams gets moved back. That’s a feeling no one wants to repeat. Being one of eleven players on a field, with hundreds of people watching and scores of cameras pointed in your direction is a good way to learn there are no shortcuts to success, there’s no place to hide, so you better be giving one hundred percent.
The seniors on the team should soak up every bit of this season that their brains will allow. Chances are, after high school they will never do anything like this again, so take it all in. Besides my lesson of the pulling guard, another thing that has stayed in my memory all these years was the sight of a group of guys on the field who played so hard, steam was visible rising off their bodies. Once you see that, you won’t forget it. I plan to attend as many high school games as possible, in Norwich and other school’s home games in the county. I’ll be watching the linemen of course and in the chill of late fall games, I’ll be watching for the sight of steam rising from the players. To paraphrase Bruce Springsteen, I’ll be reliving my Glory Days. More importantly, I want to support the teams and so should you. To help you attend and support high school sports events, most Chenango County schools are using www.schedulegalaxy.com to publish schedule information about all of their sports teams. Check the webpage for your favorite school and go watch the sport of your choice. I’ll leave you with these words no one has ever heard spoken by a high school football player; “man, I’m wish I never played football.”
If you have a comment, complaint or compliment you are welcome to leave it in 140 characters or less on Twitter @josephangelino.
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