My Football Community
By Carlos Thull
Football community
My football community taught me many things not just about football, but other important life lessons as well. Football is a whole lot of fun and you meet new people who have the same interest as you. They will become your teammates and your friends. Football is important to me because I met many of my friends when playing it and I just love playing the game. Wether I was playing it or just watching it I have always liked football and has always been a part of my life.
Starting out
When I first started out I had to get the right equipment in order to play. The football program included almost everything in order to play so no one would be left behind. They gave shoulder pads, leg pads, mouth guards, jerseys, and a helmet. You only had to get cleats but they are not mandatory.
Practice
My football practice was Tuesday's and Thursday's from 5:30 to around 7:30. Practice was always at Apollo behind the stadium. Practice started off with stretching for about 10 minutes and then split the two teams to different areas. Once the teams were split we got into our own positions. For half of practice we worked on offense and then did defense depending on which one we started. I was a wide receiver and went to the outside of the line. We ran routes and went against the coaches. On defense we worked on running, tackling pursuing, and other drills. I was a linebacker and stood behind the defensive line. And sometimes we scrimmaged the other teams just for fun.
Games
Every Saturday since our first practice started we had a game against another schools football team. We faced Kennedy, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, South, and then faced Kennedy again at the end of the season.
What football is about
Why football is great
The main reason that I like football is seeing my friends, and just the overall feel of playing the sport. People will like football because you get to meet new people who will probably become your new friends and football is just an amazing be fun sport to play. You learn lessons such as teamwork, cooperation, and trusting in your teammates. Football is different from other communities in some ways. Football is almost always outside, so communities who are inside most of the time differ from football. In football you also might get hurt even if that is not the intention. You may get hit or injure yourself unlike most communities where you are safe. But good equipment diminishes that chance of getting hurt so don't have to worry about it that much.
Lessons
In football you will learn many lessons that you will use later in life. These lessons include cooperation, trusting in your teammates, persistency, and teamwork. You can learn all of these just by playing football.
Friends
If you join football with your friends then you already have someone to talk to while playing. But those aren't going to be your only friends. After you practice you will learn stuff about your teammates and might even become friends. But even if you and someone else aren't friends you are still on the same team.
End of season
The end of the season is kind of a sad moment. You say good-bye to some people and won't see them for a while. But when I played we went out with a bang. We got to have pizza, pop, and other things while we turned in our stuff. We also played a game with no pads but didn't really follow the rules. And after that all you can do is to wait for next season and prepare for it.