It can be anything from big plays you made, to big games your team won, to a team that you earned a spot on, to anything related to sports and you. I'll start with a few that will not be leaving my mind anytime soon.
1. The hit
I was always a football fan, I swear from the time I was born I was a fan of the game. I can remember the start of 7th grade year when I finally got my chance to suit up. Fast forward 2 years later and have me playing JV. I'll never forget the beginning of this game. We were at home playing a team far West from us. I was lined up as the left gunner on kickoffs and it was my job to fly down the field and make sure nothing got outside. Well, something did get outside, just not on my side.
I remember seeing the returner field the ball and tear off down the opposite sideline. I made a cut back and took off straight across the field as fast as I could go. He at this point had already gotten in front of our entire team and was headed for the promised land. I can't stress this next part enough. I was blessed with the perfect angle and perfect luck - He was never paying attention.
I was slightly ahead of him coming down the field, while his eyes just kept looking forward like if I wasn't even there. Needless to say I hit him as absolutely hard as I could with a full head of steam and I still remember the scene. The coolest part was that it was right in front of our bench, coaches and fans. He was right on the sideline and when I hit him he fumbled (out of bounds) and just rolled. He rolled right by the bleachers and onto our track that circled the field. I'll never forget the look I had from our head coach. It was just a mouth wide open "Are you devil?" type of look if I've ever seen one. He congratulated me at half time, which was odd because he never gave out praises very often. To this day my old teammates and family members refer to is only as "The hit."
2. Sack Attack
This also takes place in 9th grade. We only played 9 man football at that time, and on defense we ran our version of a 4-6 bear. It was a 5-3-1 formation that was quite similar.
Anyways, I was not really big enough to play on the D-line (about 5'7 155 in 9th grade) but I just excelled at DT. The reason was because I was so quick off the snap that I 90% of the time would be by the center before he stood up and usually before the QB could hand the ball off. It was like a glitch. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I can't stress how much this worked. I had mastered this as a skill, and it was unstoppable.
So when we ran this formation I always went to the DT spot, and in this particular game I ended up 8 sacks. 8. Freakin. Sacks. 3 were from actually sacking the QB trying to pass, and the other 5 were hitting him before he handed the ball off. It was like a cheat code. That was just my day I guess. I did OK offensively that game, but 8 sacks and no answer for them still holds a special place in my sports heart. Even if it did feel like cheating.
3. Making the team
In 7th grade my family moved from a town of about 1,200 people to one of about 60,000 people. I was already nervous just to play ball with the "big city kids." More nervous than you would know.
To make a long story short, for the first time in my sports career I had to try out for a team. An actual real tryout.
They timed our base running speed, tested our arm strength, made us do some fielding and hitting drills, and some other things I can't remember. All I remember was wanting to be one of youngest kids to make legion ball that year. They started to read off the names after our 3rd try out, and they started to near the list as I sat waiting, sweating. Finally they called my name. I couldn't help but just smile. I had made a "big city" team.
Before we had a t-shirt with our sponsors name on it in the small town, and now we had 4 different uniform combinations, our own locker, own hat, etc... Plus we played on a field that a semi pro team I used to watch played on. I can honestly say I felt like I made the big leagues.
I ended up as the only 14 year old on the team, but I played sub par. I was used to taking farm boys deep and just letting it all come natural, but my poor play (mixed with excitement and the introduction of good curveballs) didn't stop me from enjoying every second of my run.
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I'll post some more I've got in mind later. Let's hear some of your guys. I know some of you played major ball, I would love to hear your stories.
1. The hit
I was always a football fan, I swear from the time I was born I was a fan of the game. I can remember the start of 7th grade year when I finally got my chance to suit up. Fast forward 2 years later and have me playing JV. I'll never forget the beginning of this game. We were at home playing a team far West from us. I was lined up as the left gunner on kickoffs and it was my job to fly down the field and make sure nothing got outside. Well, something did get outside, just not on my side.
I remember seeing the returner field the ball and tear off down the opposite sideline. I made a cut back and took off straight across the field as fast as I could go. He at this point had already gotten in front of our entire team and was headed for the promised land. I can't stress this next part enough. I was blessed with the perfect angle and perfect luck - He was never paying attention.
I was slightly ahead of him coming down the field, while his eyes just kept looking forward like if I wasn't even there. Needless to say I hit him as absolutely hard as I could with a full head of steam and I still remember the scene. The coolest part was that it was right in front of our bench, coaches and fans. He was right on the sideline and when I hit him he fumbled (out of bounds) and just rolled. He rolled right by the bleachers and onto our track that circled the field. I'll never forget the look I had from our head coach. It was just a mouth wide open "Are you devil?" type of look if I've ever seen one. He congratulated me at half time, which was odd because he never gave out praises very often. To this day my old teammates and family members refer to is only as "The hit."
2. Sack Attack
This also takes place in 9th grade. We only played 9 man football at that time, and on defense we ran our version of a 4-6 bear. It was a 5-3-1 formation that was quite similar.
Anyways, I was not really big enough to play on the D-line (about 5'7 155 in 9th grade) but I just excelled at DT. The reason was because I was so quick off the snap that I 90% of the time would be by the center before he stood up and usually before the QB could hand the ball off. It was like a glitch. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I can't stress how much this worked. I had mastered this as a skill, and it was unstoppable.
So when we ran this formation I always went to the DT spot, and in this particular game I ended up 8 sacks. 8. Freakin. Sacks. 3 were from actually sacking the QB trying to pass, and the other 5 were hitting him before he handed the ball off. It was like a cheat code. That was just my day I guess. I did OK offensively that game, but 8 sacks and no answer for them still holds a special place in my sports heart. Even if it did feel like cheating.
3. Making the team
In 7th grade my family moved from a town of about 1,200 people to one of about 60,000 people. I was already nervous just to play ball with the "big city kids." More nervous than you would know.
To make a long story short, for the first time in my sports career I had to try out for a team. An actual real tryout.
They timed our base running speed, tested our arm strength, made us do some fielding and hitting drills, and some other things I can't remember. All I remember was wanting to be one of youngest kids to make legion ball that year. They started to read off the names after our 3rd try out, and they started to near the list as I sat waiting, sweating. Finally they called my name. I couldn't help but just smile. I had made a "big city" team.
Before we had a t-shirt with our sponsors name on it in the small town, and now we had 4 different uniform combinations, our own locker, own hat, etc... Plus we played on a field that a semi pro team I used to watch played on. I can honestly say I felt like I made the big leagues.
I ended up as the only 14 year old on the team, but I played sub par. I was used to taking farm boys deep and just letting it all come natural, but my poor play (mixed with excitement and the introduction of good curveballs) didn't stop me from enjoying every second of my run.
=============================================
I'll post some more I've got in mind later. Let's hear some of your guys. I know some of you played major ball, I would love to hear your stories.
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