Personal Narrative-Stop Football Talks

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.

Nine years ago I watched my very first football game, and I was fascinated by the quote from Vince Lombardi, “Football is like life, it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.”So the succeeding year, I requested if I could do football and my grandpa said to me “Son if you want to play football, play on the line, and play on defense it is going to take dedication and determination, and you have to practice every day, do calisthenics every day, and most of all learn about how to play on the line of scrimmage.”

Football is back as the first preseason game was played last Thursday. With football coming back, so does fantasy football. Like a lot of people (myself included), you’re scouring the internet for rankings. There’s plenty of rankings out there, but none of them tell you where to take a defense. I am going to present my strategy.

I was nine-years old in 1952, and it was on a brisk August Sunday afternoon when my Dad took me to my very first 49ers game at Kezar Stadium for an exhibition contest against the Cardinals, from Chicago. As I remember the weather was overcast and the temperature a cool 60 degrees.

My stomach tightened. I had never played free safety before. The ball was snapped, and I watched as the tailback widened out to receive the pitch. Never had I felt such an adrenaline rush.

His little legs churned as fast as they could driving him straight at his opponent. I sensed Matthew wasn’t too sure of himself since he had never expressed any confidence playing our football games or in practices; but this time, the young defender responsible for guarding him was smaller, and Matt had the advantage. He staccato stepped and faked running to the right just as we had planned. His opponent accepting the feigned shift, ran in the misdirection. Suddenly, Matt was all alone in the end-zone; and the football, a perfectly thrown pass designed for Matt, was spiraling toward his small opened hands. The ball hit his palms and bounced skyward, but Matt quickly reached up and grabbed the football securing his touchdown. The families in the stands cheered, and Matt returned to the sideline with a smile and a little more confidence. I coach Matt’s third grade 7 on 7 football team, and this is my third year of competitive football league coaching. Coaching is a luxury I afford myself with my limited free time, and it brings me a lot of satisfaction.

This is probably the most popular and used play in football. This play requires that the running back runs off the outside hip of the tackle.

The environment that perfectly contents me the most is a football field. I have been in many places and it’s not the same as a football field when am in that field I feel free and stronger. I have always played football since I was six I can’t find any other better place for me than a football field. It’s like a big castle and am the king to be in it the grass, wind, smell and every touchdown feel me to be complete and having me wanting more of it. No one really understands why am doing this as a life dream most don’t believe in me but when it’s time to be in the field I realize that am doing right where I stand and it’s what will be my career. If it’s one thing I learned is that no matter the obstacle your only choices is going through it and I have gone through those obstacles no matter how big or hard it was being a football player on the field and out of it has made me a better

As the bells rang out Edgar gleefully said , “ Hurry up James we need to get there in time to be picked, or else we’re gonna be stuck with the nerds out in the field watching!”, as he ran out to the field toward the road where we would be playing tackle football.

I could hear it, the bell, signaling a touchdown. Except this time it wasn’t one of my teammates, it was me. Oh how I had dreamt about hearing that bell it was the ultimate sensory experience. I knew at that moment that there was a reason you never stopped believing you could do something.

Stepping onto the field, all eyes on me, the crowd chanting, “block that kick! block that kick!”. That’s the only thing I remember from our 25-22 loss over Sun Valley my sophomore year. As a kicker on the football team you have a hard job. It is 10% physical and 90%mental. Having the teams trust is a real confidence boost, but after that night, I wasn’t sure if I had that anymore. Crying, a quiet locker room, not being able to sleep, all of the sad faces. That’s not what the end of a football game is supposed to look like. “Maybe I’ll get over it”, I asked myself. Little did I know this would help shape the future of not only my football career but also life in

I know I felt awkward, I can’t imagine how she felt in front of me. She actually did scoot over a little bit. If someone stood facing me I would also try to turn a little bit to avoid eye contact or accidental body touching. I think everyone else realized what I was doing and had kind of confused looks on their faces. To make it even more awkward I stared around the elevator just observing the people. The woman did react the way I would’ve by turning away a little bit, I think I would’ve tried to ignore the person by just looking down at my phone and praying that the elevator ride would hurry up. After the first few moments I felt the eyes wonder off me and everyone minded their own business including the woman next to me even though I could still feel some weird tension. It’s interesting to observe people, everyone had their own thought about me standing and staring the way I

Several of the people had no reaction at all, probably numbed by the often encountered with such behaviour in large busy cities; many people however greeted me with impolite glances and confused expressions. Through the scrunching of their brows this confusion and annoyance was portrayed. A few elderly people were even quite shocked, conveying this through startled wide-eyed expressions and open mouths. These facial expressions were what allowed me to understand how the passenger were feeling and what they were thinking without them having to say a word, showing that non-verbal communication is much harder to control as it is a continuous

I saw the heads turning as if in slow motion to look at me as I stood up on the moving bus, their glaring eyes boring into my shy soul. Slowly opening my mouth, while praying that I wouldn’t botch my only chance to make a first impression. Miraculously, instead of shaking, words came out that sounded like I was having fun.

Resist the urge to jump into conversation if your associate is silent for a minute. Many Asian cultures have silence as a form of communication. (Hong Kong - Language 2014)