With teachers, students, and staff back to school, I find myself asking the age-old question, “where does the time go?” Summer weather took a while to get to us this year and I feel like I have barely begun to take advantage of these hot, sunny days. Here we are, already on the brink of autumn and I am not ready! But, ready or not, here it comes.
As a native East Coaster, I was culturally unprepared for a school term that began before Labor Day. It easily ranked as one of the more challenging adjustments to make when my own children began to attend houses of learning. It seemed barbaric to have children sitting indoors, behind desks, trying to absorb knowledge while the dog days of summer were still in the puppy stage. I felt for them, and I felt for the teachers (for oh so many more reasons than this). I grew up with summer break stretching past the first week of September and even that seemed too soon. It just didn’t feel like the end of summer! When I discovered the academics then decided to take a week off in October, I was boggled! How did any of this make sense?
The reality is that I really don’t need to step outside or even look at the calendar to know what time of year it is – it may be 80 degrees; it may only be August, but there is nothing that says fall like the start of high school football.
As a proud empty nester, I don’t really feel the impact of the return to the routine that comes with having offspring in academia, but with a husband who has been coaching high school football for over 25 years, I definitely feel the impact of the sports calendar. My retired husband is a man of routine. He creates a daily schedule and does his best to stick with the goals he sets for himself, be it his exercise routine or household projects, of which there are many. For most of the year, things had been moving along like clockwork and even the summer practice schedule was not too disruptive, but all of that has changed.
Preparing for Friday night lights may as well be a full-time job. To be clear, he is not the head coach, but the man does not do anything halfway, so the actual game that takes place on various high school fields around the north state is actually a tiny part of his commitment. He begins each week creating practice schedules, before going to practice every Monday through Thursday afternoon, which runs into early evening. Friday is game day, of course, which means leaving the house, again in the early afternoon, sometimes travelling a distance to said game, executing the game plan, returning home from the game, and depending on the outcome, either getting a good night’s rest or tossing for a couple of hours over missed opportunities. Win or lose, Saturday is spent if front of the computer watching game film, scoring the players on things that went well and areas to improve. Again, depending on the outcome of the previous contest, Saturday night might mean dinner and a movie or some other social event with his lovely wife, but often, a very tired spouse prefers to settle in for a restful evening. A good chunk of Sunday is spent meeting with the other coaches and then it all begins again.
This routine continues, from mid-August to at least late October, with the ultimate goal of making it to playoffs, which could mean playing through November and a shot at the section title puts the end of the season into December. That is a lot of commitment.
If he didn’t love it so much, I would have a much more difficult time watching it all unfold, but love it, he does! The rewards of the job somehow outweigh the sacrifices, and I am not talking about anything that has anything to do with the wins and losses column.
While he doesn’t require or seek validation, it is clear to me that what he does on the field season after season has impacted the lives of the young men who identify as “miners for life.”
I have heard him, and others, say everything you need to know about life can be found in the game of football. He cites teamwork, perseverance, putting the team above self and discipline among the attributes honed on the field. I have had my doubts, but I have also watched a great number of boys look back on their years in the sports program and crediting it with helping them become who they are today.
There is something undeniable about the camaraderie of any team sport, but football seems to forge an uncommon bond and the love of teammates for one another are relationships that last long after the heat of summer turns into the cool of autumn.
Country singer Kenny Chesney had a huge hit based on the game. The chorus sums it up:
“Well it’s turn and face the Stars and Stripes
It’s fighting back them butterflies
It’s call it in the air, alright yes sir we want the ball
And it’s knocking heads and talking trash
It’s slinging mud and dirt and grass
It’s I got your number, I got your back when your back’s against the wall
You mess with one man you got us all
As another season kicks off, I can occasionally be found in the stands at a home game or two and if you haven’t been, I encourage you to consider giving it a try. It makes for an inexpensive date night. It’s nostalgic, and it’s a fun way to support and be part of our great community, cheering on the boys of fall.
