Season's Over!

Football is an honest game. It's true to life. It's a game about sharing. Football is a team game. So is life.
~ Joe Namath

Football season has come to a close. One last game, 700 billion hotdogs and brats served to hungry players and their families. It's over.

Bugaboo had a good final game. He played better in this last game then he'd played in the first game. And really, isn't that what the season is about? Improving enough at the end that you don't recognize where you were at the beginning? He had a good team to share this year's accomplishments with, and I'm grateful for that.

However...today was the first game X came and saw this year. I'd roll my eyes, but I do that to much already when it comes to him. After the game, I was congratulating Bugaboo on the different plays he'd done well on, and X had to tear him down a notch or two. Hello? It's the last game of the season. There's no need for that now.

That little drama and X's behavior at the banquet only served as a large reminder why I'm glad we're not together any longer.

I came home from the banquet after clean up and crashed. I was tired! I'm not going to do anything but sit today.

Until later...

One Final Practice

Today is the final practice for Bugaboo's football season. I will not be sorry to see it end.

I'm not saying that it hasn't been good for Bugaboo, because it has. I'm just saying that the time commitment has been enough for a while, and I'll be glad to settle down into a slower winter season.

Bugaboo is ready for it to be over too. He's had a good time, but he's glad it is coming to a close.

So one final chance to get everything ready for Saturday's game as a last hurrah.

Until later...

Big Fast Kids

When it comes to football, God is prejudiced - toward big, fast kids.
~ Chuck Mills

Bugaboo would agree to this quote today. He got thrown around the field yesterday.

The opposing center was much bigger, both in height and weight, and just threw Bugaboo around the field.

It didn't help that Bugaboo's team, for the first time this year, were harping on each other in the back field.

There were some punches thrown by both sides yesterday. Bugaboo's coach does NOT put up with that sort of behavior and all of the boys were read the riot act at the end of the game.

Bugaboo had possibly the worst game in his short football career and he was not happy.

My parents came over to watch Bugaboo play, and he wouldn't even look at them or say hello.

After the game, Bugaboo, Mr. A, their step mom and their little sister headed to watch the baseball game, which our team lost. I sure hope Bugaboo's attitude improved before they got to the stadium!

One more week of football.

Until later...

Aggressions

Football is, after all, a wonderful way to get rid of your aggressions without going to jail for it.
~ Heywood Hale Broun

Another week of football, another week of getting rid of aggressions. Today, Bugaboo's team played his best friend's team. And man, did that team have something to prove. They hadn't won a game yet, while Bugaboo's team was 1-1. The other team was pounding on Bugaboo's team.

But the boys were up to the challenge, and played very well. So did Bugaboo. I am really enjoying his transformation on the team. Watching him with the coaches, I can see him soaking up the praise, the direction when he's not doing things the best and just having that attention from a male figure. It's wonderful to see.

It was a tight game, but when all was said and done, Bugaboo's team won. 2-1 on the season!

Until later...

What You Put In

It's not necessarily the amount of time you spend at practice that counts; it's what you put into the practice.
~ Eric Lindros

Bugaboo is getting tired of practices. The football program changed the way they do things this year for the fifth and sixth grade boys, so that they are more on par with how things will go for them once they start middle school ball.

What that means is for the first half of practice each night, the boys aren't split up into their teams, but rather split into groups based on what position they play most of the time and drilled. Bugaboo hates this part of practice. He loves being with his coach and his team, running plays and practicing for the games, but the drills? Not so much.

I've been trying to explain that this is just the way things are and that to get better, they need to run the drills, but what does a Nonnie know?

It seems that this is a common theme amoung the boys when I talk to other parents. We all agree that the drills are a good thing, the boys all agree that they aren't.

Some day Bugaboo will understand that you get out what you put into things, but right now? Not so much.

Until later...

Individual Commitment

Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
~ Vince Lombardi

Bugaboo is learning a lot about individual commitment this year in football. He's improved more than I can say over last year. He moves with the ball, he doesn't sit around after it has gotten out of his immediate area. He's motivated. And because he's motivated, he's giving the commitment needed on his end, to help the team win.

Yesterday, Bugaboo's team did win. We played an out of town team who just looked more like a team than we did. But that was before the game started. Once the whistle blew, our boys just went out there and refused to play without heart.

Bugaboo plays on the line, and on defense, he pushed himself through the offensive line time and time again. Sacking the quarterback, tying up the runner behind the line of scrimmage and generally introducing mayhem into the other team's back field with the J Twins.

He's got some work to do on offense. He takes his eyes away from his guy to watch the ball, and he needs to remember that he's on the line to stay with his guy, not to watch where the ball is. It'll come with time, and I'm guessing by the end of the season.

I was so proud of his efforts this week, and I told him more than once. This child of mine SOAKS up the compliments, so I make sure that he gets them when they are deserved. They make his day, and really, who doesn't have their day made by a good compliment?

The boys are all giving that individual commitment and making the team work. That's why Bugaboo's team is 1-1 on the season, and they're enjoying that record greatly. So's this Nonnie.

Until later...

Collision Sport

Football isn't a contact sport, it's a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport.
~ Duffy Daugherty

Yesterday was Bugaboo's first football game of the season. He has a wonderful coach...the same coach who spent so much time and energy as Mr. A's baseball coach this summer, so I feel confident that Bugaboo will learn a lot this year.

They had an okay outing for the first time. And while the coaches want to win, the focus this season isn't winning, but rather learning the fundamentals, which will give them a winning edge as they move on to school football.

Bugaboo's team is the Wildcats...they've got yellow jerseys with a blue wildcat on front. Their sponsors didn't want to have their name prominent on the jerseys, and it almost looks like they're part of the school teams.

It was a clear, sunny and cool day. Just the kind of day for fall football. By the time I got to the fields this morning, Bugaboo and his team were warming up and I didn't get a chance to say good morning to him.

Bugaboo got moved from left tackle to center today, and it was easy to see why. He's the biggest, both in height and weight on the team. He looks so big out on the field.

The boys had some troubles getting into the game at the start, but by the end of the game, you could see that their confidence level had improved and they were tackling much better.

Bugaboo got quite a few accolades thrown at him by the coaches during half time. "Watch Bug...see how he does it. That's the way we want you all to do it", and so on.

One one of the last plays of the game, two of our players ended up laying hurt on the field. I'm still not sure what exactly happened. Bugaboo was one of those players. It took a few minutes for the two players to get up off the field, and Bugaboo sat out the rest of the game. The coach said that it sounded like his neck snapped the wrong way when his body went another, and that Bugaboo seemed more scared than hurt.

I'm not one of those moms who rushes out to check on their kid when he gets hurt during a game. In fact, I didn't go over to Bugaboo until after the coaches talked to all of the boys after the game. X's wife however was right on top of him, and I could see that Bugaboo was getting upset with all of the attention. I might have gotten a sideways look or three from X's wife, but I know my child, and I know that he hates to have extra attention called to him.

When I finally talked to him, he said he was fine, just a little sore and didn't want anyone asking him any more...that's my boy! LOL!

So, the team might have lost, but I think Bugaboo built some confidence, he learned what it's like to be hit and he learned that he can take it. I'll take that kind of game over a win any day.

Until later...