Thursday, March 31, 2022

3/31/22 Should Mijo Try To Play Football In College?

     He is still in his junior year in high school, but time passes by fast, and honestly, these boys are already having talks amongst themselves whether they are going to try and play once they graduate.  We gave one of his friends a ride home but stopped to eat a light dinner yesterday, and the conversation centered around their future.  This kid could possibly play at the next level, be it a division 2 or 3 school, but it is possible.  He is about 6ft 2in and Baby A says he is pretty good.  Mijo is a solid lineman, has been selected twice to the 2nd team all-district team, so he is at least a bit above average.  If he has a weakness, it is his height, he is still scratching at 5ft 9in or so.  He has a heck of a squat, near 600 pounds, but he says every time he lifts heavy, he feels like his spine contracts, and he gets shorter, his bench is solid above 300 pounds.

    He has started to get letters from coaches, the latest from the coach at Southwestern University, which I like because it is in Georgetown, and we drove by the campus on our way to a wrestling meet and it is such a beautiful city and campus.  Wife has mentioned other coaches have sent her inquiries, and she has been trying to highlight him thru Twitter, where a lot of the coaches are present.  He was told by his head football coach to make a twitter and act responsibly on it, that the college coaches are looking at you, not just the highlights, but also that you aren't acting a fool, not that it would be a problem for our boy, who has always acted like an old man in a kid's body.

    The pros of playing would have to include some financial support, plus the structure that he is used to.  I think you need something to keep you disciplined and I worry that without sports, he would find other ways to fill his time, drinking and partying worry me, because he is bound to be exposed to it soon enough.  Since 7th grade, he has been almost solely focused on being an athlete, he loves working out, he really watches what he eats, and if he were to be done with that part of his life, would he just get lazy and out of shape?  The cons are that he could get injured, I am sure the game is played much faster and more aggressively, even at a division 2 or 3.  Plus, it is pretty much a job, if he has a scholarship, the coaches are going to want all your free time, so he will never be allowed to just explore and grow on his own.

    I guess the choice comes down to him.  We are not trying to push him either way, but we do want him to know we support whatever he decides to do.

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