Football

Nathan has finished up his first week of football practice. He is tired and sore, but he is really enjoying it! Just to recap, this year would be the last year Nathan is eligible to play in our county league. He's wanted to play for years, so we finally decided he could try it this year. After talking extensively to another mom (and dad) in our co-op whose kids are all incredibly gifted in sports and who have played in this league many years, I felt like we knew a little bit of what to expect. I also started praying for whoever would be Nathan's coach.

The league had their draft on July 31, while we were out of town. I was very anxious the whole next week, since we never heard anything on our cells. I figured we would have a ton of messages on our answering machine (which we who are not very technologically astute could not access), and I knew from talking with Christine (whose oldest 2 boys are also playing for the first time this year) that they were having team meetings and equipment distributions. I hate feeling behind and out of the loop, so this was worrying to me--more to me than to Nathan, LOL.

When we got home Sunday night, we did indeed have several messages on our machine from the coach's wife. I immediately called her to explain, and she was so very nice. I told Nathan that if his coach was half as nice as she was, we'd be in great shape! I was a little concerned, however, because Nathan had been drafted by an "expansion team"--so all the players were new. For the other teams, if a player had been on a team the year before and was still in the right age range, than he would just stay on that same team. Also, their team name was a college football team name, as opposed to a pro team, like all the other teams in the entire league (3 age divisions)! So that was a bit odd. I told Nathan they very likely could never win a game, but hopefully he'd have a fun team and really learn a lot and have a good experience.

Nathan was able to pick up his equipment the next day before the first practice, so we really didn't miss anything. Another answer to prayer, at least for the McC's, was that although Nathan and Isaac weren't on the same team, they were practicing at the same middle school (the only 2 teams!), so Bob has been able to take and bring home Isaac, so Craig only has to worry about getting Caleb to and from practices. We were glad to be able to help!

Nathan and Bob both came home from the first practice raving about how amazingly well-organized this coach was. Nathan received 2 practice t-shirts, one dark and one light, as well as a huge (2 1/2 gallon) water jug with a big handle on it. They actually use this in practice as a sort of kettle bell, swinging it around and in front and so on. Of course, the more they drink, the lighter it is, so that is a good incentive to keep hydrated in all the heat! The coach also handed out playbooks for them to study, and often the assistant coaches will put new plays in there. The head coach is also very encouraging and just seems to be a really great guy.

Back in the beginning of June, this other mom and I had been talking about football, and she told me about this really outstanding coach that her youngest son had a few years ago. The coach took a few years off, but she had heard a rumor that the coach might be coming back this year and coaching in the division for oldest kids. The mom was trying to decide if they were going to put their kids in this league or possibly a different one, but she said if she could guarantee that he son would get this coach, she would definitely choose this league. Well--that turned out to be the coach Nathan got! So I really feel like God answered that prayer for a good coach. Nathan is definitely learning a ton already, and he really is enjoying it. We'll see what the season holds, but I think it will be a good experience. Actually, we'll see what next week holds--the first week of contact practice, LOL. That should be an experience!