Dedication To The Prices

[picture taken by my mom; Me making a tackle.]

Do you think it is right for a human being to set his body on the line for a football game? Should he stop or keep playing? I’ll let you decide that one for yourself, but I believe if you love something enough that you would do anything for it. Most people, mostly women, do not want their children playing football because of the simple fact of getting hurt. To be honest you can get hurt doing anything, such as: running to a certain place, cooking, other sports, walking on unleveled ground. So why judge a player and say he should not be playing football, when the world in general is dangerous.

I will admit, there are some negatives going in to playing football and can potentially produce serious life ending injuries. Players get hurt all the time; it is very common in football. Between 2001 and 2005, U.S. males of all ages made an estimated 1,060,823 emergency room visits with football-related injuries, according to an analysis of data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program performed by the Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital. Also you could die from serious blows to the head or chest, which is very possible. That’s why they made shoulder pads and helmets to protect those critical spots.

Even though those negatives are severe there are also many up sides to playing football, and even coaching it. I play football and I know it is a very tough sport, but also I know that it teaches life lessons and ways to become a better man. Playing football teaches you sportsmanship towards one another, and teaches players toughness and perseverance when things get rough. Coaching the sport gains you respect and love from your players and staff. Adds friendships for your future and sets future goals for yourself by controlling what you do on and off the field. For most high school players, football is all they have and taking it away from them could damage their lives in the long run and halt their future. So yes I’m saying that football kept and keeps football players off the streets and molding them into real men.

The Thought Of No Football

  There were times when I looked back and thought how life would’ve been if I didn’t play football. Football is my love and heart, which played a great portion of me being who I am today. The questions I ask myself always everyday are: Would I still have made it to college if I didn’t play football? What would have kept me motivated to work hard in high school? And how would not playing sports affect my everyday life?

They say you can never predict how life would’ve been in your past if you took a different route. Because not all things work out how you may expect. Would I still have made it to college if I didn’t play football? Yes, I believe because I was always smart as a little kid during and before football. My step dad is a retired veteran so college would’ve been free regardless and money not an issue. But also playing football taught me lessons that just being in the classrooms couldn’t teach such as: leadership, togetherness, grit, believability, and most importantly teamwork.

A photo off my instagram which was off a local magazine my mom took the picture

I always felt that football pushed me harder than anything and made me work harder in the classroom, because without good grades football was unattainable. What would have kept me motivated to work hard in high school? That is a very tough question because as I said earlier football pushed me to new heights. Still, I would have to say yes to that question because my mother was a true inspiration to my life and supported me through every hard time. She made it her business to know my business in the classroom and on the field. She always told me “Through everything I might not be there, but GOD will.”

Football takes a toll on your body and a lot of time out of your daily life. Coaches preach that you must eat, sleep, and bleed football every day. I have not had a break from football since my 6^th grade year because that’s when you must sit out and wait a year. How would not playing sports affect my everyday life? I sit back and marinate on this question the most, simply because what would I do every day with the free time I never had. Football players aren’t accustomed to that kind of free time daily. Safe to say that football kept me off the streets, taught me every lesson needed to be a man, and bonded me with new people. Not playing football would devastate me and cripple my way of life.