06-02-2015, 07:26 AM
Parents resisted in letting me play for the longest time.
When I finally moved from the sticks to a neighborhood closer to Cincy where there were enough kids to form a pickup game, I played with much older kids. They couldn't tackle me.
Finally convinced my folks to let me play in 8th grade. Coach put me at OG/NG. I had a growth spurt in middle school and was somewhat bigger than a lot of kids, but I was also the fastest.
Next year I participated in camps as RB/LB. Had a few good showings where I'd say I "took over," but always had some nagging injury...fingers, back, hip pointer, you name it.
Next year came in even lighter, 8% body fat (that's not close to competition level, but that's as good as it got for me). Came into camp as RB/LB again. During a "rip" drill against a blocker, my shoulder ripped. Never healed that season, and I grew frustrated of being the injured guy. Quit and went on to play tennis (after the shoulder healed).
Sadly, I still have dreams about competing in HS football. Not staying with the team through HS is one of my bigger regrets. It's the ultimate competitive field, and I think I knew I was a good enough athlete to make something happen in HS. Way too small in college. Sad, because skipping out on HS football is not the end of the world and I know that. But I really enjoyed the dedication and the competition when I did it.
When I finally moved from the sticks to a neighborhood closer to Cincy where there were enough kids to form a pickup game, I played with much older kids. They couldn't tackle me.
Finally convinced my folks to let me play in 8th grade. Coach put me at OG/NG. I had a growth spurt in middle school and was somewhat bigger than a lot of kids, but I was also the fastest.
Next year I participated in camps as RB/LB. Had a few good showings where I'd say I "took over," but always had some nagging injury...fingers, back, hip pointer, you name it.
Next year came in even lighter, 8% body fat (that's not close to competition level, but that's as good as it got for me). Came into camp as RB/LB again. During a "rip" drill against a blocker, my shoulder ripped. Never healed that season, and I grew frustrated of being the injured guy. Quit and went on to play tennis (after the shoulder healed).
Sadly, I still have dreams about competing in HS football. Not staying with the team through HS is one of my bigger regrets. It's the ultimate competitive field, and I think I knew I was a good enough athlete to make something happen in HS. Way too small in college. Sad, because skipping out on HS football is not the end of the world and I know that. But I really enjoyed the dedication and the competition when I did it.
