Narrative Essay On Flag Football

September 20, 2011 was the day that everything changed. Practice that day was long and excruciatingly hot. My coach did not let me take a rest as I was the only full back we had at the time. Hit after hit, it started to add up and my world was spinning but coach told me to keep going, so I did. The very next snap my world got wrecked. My form became lazy because I was beyond exhausted and dehydrated, my head lead my attempt to break the tackle and the kid making the tackle lead with his head as well. Just like that my body went numb, everything was dark, my eyes were open but I could not see. I had no sense of where I was and where I was going. My name left me. At this point I did not know if I was dead or alive. This was the last time I was ever able to strap up and play the game of football. This is what happens to the millions of kids who play football on a daily basis. Somebody was there telling them to go back in even when they were showing early signs of a concussion. The athlete takes one more hit straight to the head out of poor form or exhaustion and then everything goes from bad to worse. These events take place at such a young age that the long term side effects can be fatal.

The day the team got together and fought threw a tough battle facing pinnacle high school. It was our second home game and our record was 1-2. After all of the hard work we had put in over summer, we realized we could not lose, especially in front of our home crowd. At the beginning of the game we did our usual warm-ups, I have never felt so much adrenaline pushing threw my veins in my life. After the warm-ups the whole team got in a big huddle, we chanted a chant that will never be forgotten and one day make history for the pride. After the chant we got ready for kick-off, lined up and ready to go. The crowd started cheering at the first 2 seconds of the game “go pride go, go pride go”. This made the whole team nervous, not just because there was so many

Football is a game of passion, a time when nothing else matters and the only thing that matters is going out there having fun and fighting for the guy next to you. Football has always been something that I loved and had a wild passion for. I’ve made friendships and memories to last a life time and I can always be grateful that football did that for me. Now of course I’ve had some bad memories during football as well, I remember walking out of the film room on the last day of spring ball and having Coach Antle grab me and say “Gage, I think I want to try you at a new position, I want to put you at defensive end. We need you more there and we think you can really excel there.” I remember being so furious, I had played linebacker ever since I could remember and now the last day of spring ball my senior year everything was about to change.

In third grade I began my first official Sheridan sports team. I was now officially making my way to becoming a general; before that I didn’t have any idea of what being a “general” meant. At the time I was attending Thornville elementary and the majority of my friends at my school were just as pumped as I, for our first practice on the field beside the infamous Sheridan Middle school. The first few weeks of practice taught me nothing I wanted was going to be easily attainable, these coaches expected more out of me than I had ever been accustomed to. The bar they set for us each day pushed us to new heights we had only dreamed of.

One fall morning, when the sun has not come and there is still darkness, I arose from my slumber awaiting the big day I would have ahead. While I am getting ready for the game, by putting on my pads, I get ready to step out my house and get ready for an intense three hours. As I walk to the car, I can already sense the coaches hollering, and the parents just hoping that nothing would go wrong. Each road that we pass and the closer and closer that I get to the field the hollering and the screaming become louder, louder, louder, and louder. Until they stop, as I step on the field, I no longer hear the hollering and screaming. All I can hear are the coaches getting us ready for the game that would happen in fifteen

When I was younger I used to play sports especially football. I remember playing in the championship game for Coral Reef Senior High against American Heritage Senior High. It was my last high school game and for us to remain undefeated throughout the season. I also knew I had to bring my “A” game because of college scouts were going to be at the game. Our game was to be played at Florida International University at 7pm. My team and I went to the FIU stadium two hours before the game started to stretch and loosen up. So as the time was winding down for us to play we step on the field, all I could see was a lot people in the stands cheering us on. I kind of had butterflies in my stomach but I had to put that feeling aside and help my team win.

In Physical Education for the past two weeks, we have been learning and playing flag football. Some of the things I have come to prove are that I am a good runner and catcher of the ball. We have been studying terms and rules. I am really starting to catch on and understand these terms and rules. In addition, there are many plays to learn. These can be difficult at times to understand. All of these parts work together! It has been a great experience so far, but I can still immensely improve. Flag football as easy as it may sound is actually quite complicated. There are many skills, terms and rules you have to learn and I am still learning some.

During the next two years, my duties included office work along with calling defense for football, running the clock for women’s lacrosse, and inputting the live stats for baseball games. Flash forward to today, I have worked with all of Towson’s major Division one sports along with being the head intern for the department along with overseeing a group of student interns. This internship has both its positive and negative aspects, the positives being that it has allowed me to get more experience in the sports world, along with giving me an idea of the direction I want to go in. While this internship has had many benefits, it also has its draw backs. The draw backs are two-fold, one is the fact that it is low paying in contrast to the amount

Finally, the day of our first game had arrived. All of us had butterflies in our stomachs. It was the type of feeling you get when you know you are well prepared for something, but you inexplicably still feel nervous. As soon as the ball was kicked first, all of the anxious feelings I had melted away and the game became quite fun. Just as the prior years, the first game had the easiest opponent to beat and my team and I had no problem securing a victory against them. The second game was a bit more of a challenge, but defeating that team was nothing we were not prepared for. The true challenge came in the third and championship game. Although we enjoyed a bye game due to our two previous victories, the other team had the advantage of some truly God-gifted athletes. In particular, number seven was a beast of a thirteen-year-old. He stood at an impressive six feet tall and he towered over us on every snap. During the first drive, we had marched the ball down the field slowly but surely and on the four-yard line we fumbled. Of course, number seven picked up the ball and ran it back for a touchdown. At halftime, our coach sat us down and had a long talk with us. Even though we were discouraged by their touchdown, we picked ourselves up and started scoring. We scored two rushing touchdowns in the third quarter and one more in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Not only did we come back from a losing

As everyone ran to the field eager and excited to begin their freshman year of football I awkwardly stumbled along, following them as the field grew closer. I was scared, no; I was absolutely petrified. Never before had I played a real sport. Sure I played a few seasons on the city’s little league baseball team, but in my young mind, that was surely nothing compared to this. Tackle football: I had seen a few minutes of it when my dad and his friends watched, or when my friends played Madden 05’. Although actually playing was another story altogether; I was sure that my out of shape, chubby, fourteen year old body would collapse, and I would die.

I woke up to my mom entering my room screaming, “ ITS GAME DAY!” Instead of waking up to my usual routine, sluggish and begging for more sleep, today was completely different. It was a beautiful and sunny Saturday in December. I still was in shock my school finally made it to the championship game. It felt like a dream as if my mother never woke me up by her yelling. I knew this was a huge game and something I would remember forever. Considering the high circumstances of this game I knew I had to be one hundred percent ready to play my best. My head coach, Coach Sphire wanted all of us players to report to the film room by noon that day. As time past by my team I had discussed many offensive and defensive plays, watched film, and prepared ourselves

I stepped on to the field, On a hot summer day. It was seven in the morning, I was tired, but ready to play. We all proceeded to the locker room, with no warning.

Ever since I could remember, I have always had love for the game of soccer ever since I first laid eyes on the sport. As a kid, I would spend countless hours in the backyard by myself; I would juggle, kick around the ball and doing drills. When I wasn't in the yard pretending to be Lionel Messi I would watch Ronaldinho videos on Youtube dreaming I will one day play against him. Call me crazy, but I was addicted, even as a young boy, to the beautiful sport itself, soccer.

Next thing I know, it’s half time and we’re down by 10. We walk into the locker room and sit, waiting to hear about how much we suck and about how we didn’t practice hard enough. To my surprise, coach didn’t say anything. He came in and looked at me and one of the other girls. “Captains.” We stand up. “Okay guys. I don’t need to tell you what we’re doing wrong. Focusing on the negative will get us nowhere. Focus on what we can do right, and use that.” We all huddle together and put our fists in. “Team on three. One… two… three, team!”

Freshman year of football was an eye-opener for me, and the rest of the team. It was our first year in highschool and all the big changes distracted a lot of us. Us, as players, learned new plays and new techniques that we would use all throughout our years at West Delaware. I remember feeling swamped in all the new information that was thrown my way. Coach Morris, and Worden did an outstanding job of letting us process the new material and made us comfortable with what we were learning. Practices were very fun and laid back, but our performance on the field showed that. Yielding a 2-6 record that year, I recall my thoughts walking off the field for the last time after getting . I was thinking, “Is football for me? Should I really play next year?”. The question stayed in the back of my mind all through the winter. Eventually spring rolled around and I was forced to make my decision.