I guess most boys grow up dreaming they will play in the NFL when they grow up. I was no different up until I got to seventh grade and the reality of being a fat boy sank in. We had always played football with the neighborhood kids and even some bigger kids showed up and I could usually run right through anybody, it was always like being a bit of a bully. But then you get to organized football and the coaches are heartless, pretty much if you got a belly, you are going to be a lineman. If you're skinny, receiver. Stocky athletic kids would then fill in the backs on offense and the linebackers on defense.
I fucking hated every minute of it. I like having a little spotlight on me. I like being told I'm great, I kick ass, I'm special. Whatever, I am a little man, I need to hear it, constantly. Even the best linemen rarely get praise, except from the other linemen or coaches that look at you. I was good enough to play right tackle and then turn around and play nose guard, but those coaches were not good at praising, it's not what coaches do.
I was always in band at the same time and when I had to decide for high school, I chose band, the band director that worked with me in the jazz band said I had something special and I should develop my skills. You stroke my ego like that, and I will choose your team most any day, but somehow I still dream of what could have been. I know I am not tall enough for the NFL, but dammit.
Fast forward 20-something years and now I have my boys. Boy is a handsome example of a man, but he is not thick or big and he has never been a team player. He played football in junior high but those coaches did not know what they were doing. They played him at lineman and really all over the field, but he never was into it. Javalina though, now he might become what you want in a guard or even a tackle. He loves and accepts the role of pusher and shover, blocker and hole maker. Typical size for NFL guards currently average around 6'3" and tackles go at 6'5". He just finished 7th grade and he is on his way to 5' 10" with another four years of growth potential. He has always been a thick boy and this year was carrying 210 at the beginning of the year and at the end was closer to 240. He has started lifting weights mostly by himself which is the beauty of it. He wants to be the anchor, the strongest kid on the team. He is constantly flexing his muscles and telling me to see if he is getting stronger and dammit those arms are getting more solid all the time. There were two bigger boys on the line, but he does claim to be faster than them. He has a confidence about him that borders on obnoxious, but I think that is a good thing to keep him going. I need to start jogging with him, that is something he wanted us to do and the pain in my foot is about gone, so no more excuses.
No comments:
Post a Comment