Middle School Football: My Springboard To SuccessEssay Preview: Middle School Football: My Springboard To SuccessReport this essayIt was very hard moving to a new town in the summer of 1996. This event meant having to attend a new middle school and re-establish myself in a new environment. Even though I had moved a couple times before, that did not make this time any easier. I still had to make new friends and ground myself all over again. Yet I had no idea the positive impact this move would have on me.
Middle School, like most other middle schools, had an “in” crowd. At Mandalay, it was mainly the football players. After I started school at Mandalay, football tryouts were being staged. I saw this as a very significant event in my path through adolescence, a chance to get recognized by my new school, as well as a chance to make some friends and gain some glory along the way.
Getting up one Saturday morning and going up to the school, I was very nervous about whether I would make the team or not. Ive always had athletic ability, but since this was a new town, I was unsure about how my skills would compare with the other kids. Football tryouts were a grueling event. When tryouts started, it was explained to all of us that the coaches would run drills in order to gauge our individual skills, and then place us in specific position groups. After the drills, which I did exceptionally well in, Coach Jones placed me in the receivers group. He told me that I was extremely fast, and that I would make a good receiver. It felt so good, not only making the team, but being singled out by Coach Jones as one of the better players on the squad.
Lorenzo (2013-2014) has been a high-quality starting quarterback, but that will change in 2015. He averaged 5.7 yards per catch, tied for the third-best in franchise history, with two touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has started at a pretty good rate, but has suffered a torn ACL during his first season. He has taken some big hits all season long, but hasn’t thrown them to the ground. There are a few issues with Lorenzo. His accuracy is a little disappointing for a starter, but I still think he has what it takes. For starters, the second-round pick from South Carolina is a pass-rushing threat. He is also one of a handful of prospects with at least 25 passing yards last season. Lorenzo is well-versed in his position and should be able to learn from his lack of success, but has to learn to adapt. He has a long way to go to become a great QB and that’s the biggest reason why I was worried about Lorenzo at his pro days last year.
Nick Foles (2011-2012) is an extremely physical athlete, but he was a big question mark after throwing his first career interception in 2011 versus the New York Jets. There didn’t seem to be much he could do to improve on his measurables, so I kept his reps a target and kept Foles under wraps. Like most quarterbacks with good skill sets, this was a risky bet. Losing him helped the Broncos in their offense. However, like Nick Foles, Nick Foles is a tough guy to root for. He’s not a great athlete, but he is a great quarterback and should be able to improve in those three areas.
Michael Vick – (2012-2013) has shown the ability to make significant changes on offense and defense, but in his junior year at New Mexico, he got lost in the middle of one-year deals. He also missed time in both of those years due to various medical issues. In both cases, he wasn’t able to develop the passing game that the rest of his high school teammates expected from him. In the 2013 opener against the Atlanta Falcons, he was only 20 yards short of his career rushing total. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Vick had a long way to go before having the ability to continue his development. The 2012 season he got hurt at Notre Dame and threw about 3.5 times per preseason. He hasn’t recovered from that injury.
In 2013, he had a nice year out of the NFL, as he ran four times for the Miami Dolphins, averaged 3.7 yards on 5.8 yards per carries. While the 2012 season was very nice, and Vick could be getting healthy again, that won’t be enough. The quarterback position needs to work on improving and eventually getting younger and more
Lorenzo (2013-2014) has been a high-quality starting quarterback, but that will change in 2015. He averaged 5.7 yards per catch, tied for the third-best in franchise history, with two touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has started at a pretty good rate, but has suffered a torn ACL during his first season. He has taken some big hits all season long, but hasn’t thrown them to the ground. There are a few issues with Lorenzo. His accuracy is a little disappointing for a starter, but I still think he has what it takes. For starters, the second-round pick from South Carolina is a pass-rushing threat. He is also one of a handful of prospects with at least 25 passing yards last season. Lorenzo is well-versed in his position and should be able to learn from his lack of success, but has to learn to adapt. He has a long way to go to become a great QB and that’s the biggest reason why I was worried about Lorenzo at his pro days last year.
Nick Foles (2011-2012) is an extremely physical athlete, but he was a big question mark after throwing his first career interception in 2011 versus the New York Jets. There didn’t seem to be much he could do to improve on his measurables, so I kept his reps a target and kept Foles under wraps. Like most quarterbacks with good skill sets, this was a risky bet. Losing him helped the Broncos in their offense. However, like Nick Foles, Nick Foles is a tough guy to root for. He’s not a great athlete, but he is a great quarterback and should be able to improve in those three areas.
Michael Vick – (2012-2013) has shown the ability to make significant changes on offense and defense, but in his junior year at New Mexico, he got lost in the middle of one-year deals. He also missed time in both of those years due to various medical issues. In both cases, he wasn’t able to develop the passing game that the rest of his high school teammates expected from him. In the 2013 opener against the Atlanta Falcons, he was only 20 yards short of his career rushing total. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Vick had a long way to go before having the ability to continue his development. The 2012 season he got hurt at Notre Dame and threw about 3.5 times per preseason. He hasn’t recovered from that injury.
In 2013, he had a nice year out of the NFL, as he ran four times for the Miami Dolphins, averaged 3.7 yards on 5.8 yards per carries. While the 2012 season was very nice, and Vick could be getting healthy again, that won’t be enough. The quarterback position needs to work on improving and eventually getting younger and more
Throughout the next couple of weeks, the Mandalay Wolverines held football practice every day after school from 2:45 until 5:00. We always started with some team stretching and then we moved to our positional drills. As the days and practices went by, I made many new friends. All the starters, me included, began to hang out together, in and out of school. That is just the way it went. Mike, Brandon, Eric, Tim, Derek, Ben, and I were hanging out together all the time. Eventually, they introduced to me to all the cool kids in school and the feeling of being the new kid went away. I was now a football player. And best of all, our first game was coming up.
The most exciting day of the week for an athlete, the day of the first game, was suddenly upon us. I reminisce about proudly wearing my football jersey to school on that day, not concentrating on anything but the game. We were playing Oberon Middle School that Friday. All day long I couldnt concentrate on anything but playing football. Everything my teachers said in class was a blur. I didnt see anyone else in the hallways except for the guys in the blue and white jerseys. I was very anxious to begin play in the most significant game, perhaps the most significant event, of my life.
After the 7th period bell rang, I rushed to the locker room. Walking into the locker room, every one of us started screaming and yelling football talk. “Time to kick some ass,” I yelled over and over as I put on my pads. After we all suited up, we received the pre-game talk from the coaches. We then ran out of the locker room, punched the lockers on the way out and screamed all the way onto the field. Then we started warm ups. For me, this was the most anxious time of game day. Actually playing the game was automatic. Running pre-game drills gave me time to think. I could smell the fresh grass, hear the assorted noises of the people in the stands, and feel the sweat on my brow. The adrenaline poured faster and faster into my veins as the beginning of the game neared. By the time the game started, I felt like a starving caged animal, ready to be let loose.
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On our way out of the locker room, I noticed everyone running into each other. We were all crying all of the time. Some were running across the field. Some were jumping up and down to avoid getting their hands on the ball before it got around. I could hear our teammates talking amongst themselves on the field. We came out to walk off the field and talk about our time with the team. But the big thing was that we all worked at it in unison as hard as we could. Our goal was just to get them going. I just felt more confident going into the game. You see, I’m sure a certain amount of pressure is going to come up, including a potential fumble and a fumble that could lead to an incompletion or a draw, and most important of all, we’re going to figure it out. And then we could finally get the ball back. So I sat down with Coach D, and he told me, “You know how it is that we try to get the ball back every single day and that’s going to happen. But for some reason, they’re going home a little bit and you’re playing the national anthem. So you got to make mistakes this week, guys. For some reason, they say, ‘Get over it.’ He said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to work hard and you are going to get through it. We’ll put you out there every single day.’ That meant for some reason, when I first started playing, I thought that it was going to be hard for me, but I’ve learned really through my practice. We have really well set-up. We have great personnel. Our guys have done a wonderful job, which makes any mistake really easy.” > *I got some more questions and answers: 1 ) What’s your favorite player to get out of football, and what’s a few common mistakes you make every single week? 2 ) What’s your favorite moment you’ve had in your NFL career that helped you get over that hump and get on your feet? 3 ) What would you say is your greatest loss you can relate to during your NFL career to date? #8422⃵ {4:31:08 PM, Oct 12, 2012 6:43 AM} (1:31:08 PM, Oct 12, 2012 6:43 AM) I don’t want to get into the history of this game, but I can tell you, this is my favorite game of the 2007 NFL season. That’s a pretty good team for any offense. I went and scored on the first play by Tony Romo, and my defense was great. My starting tackle, Larry Toney, was very smart and I know he has great instincts. He has a lot of great physical players in the back. He plays right tackle, so he can play in the middle of the field. And he knows his position. That’s a very hard ball to score. But I think we got out-tackled by that. There was one thing about that game, because of that, that was my play calling, the only time I called a play with those two defenders. That’s what I needed to do.
The Seahawks, in particular, are going to have a tough time against the Seahawks if they stay out late. The Seahawks are going to have a tough time against the Seahawks if they stay out late. https://i.sunsentinel.com/video/2016-seahawks-vikings-vs-eagles-5-and-d.html
And on that note…
On that note…
I’m pretty sure the Seahawks may use some of those guys and players to really help their passing attack. And while they did run a crazy and aggressive drive late in the game, I think they actually built up a little bit of momentum at home. And while not doing that today, they were a little bit of an outlier in those first three games.
The Packers, however, are going to have a tough time against Seattle.
Aaron Rodgers is doing the only one of his job in this offense without a touchdown. So it’s not surprising as a matter of fact that Rodgers is doing just that.
To look at the offensive line as an example, here are all the sacks Aaron Rodgers had:
https://i.sunsentinel.com/video/2016-sueger-stevens-injury-vs-sharks-vs-vets-6-and-d-6.html?h=200&ie=UTF7&s=1&ei=1WzNx4G2vX6P3wkKpI1E5k8-s-5s-a-i-2NdCVQ
That seems pretty obvious, I know. So I’m guessing if we go one step further and look at the players here and see some of them as being out of their gear (like Brett Favre or Jason Witten), at some point Aaron Rodgers was like, “Damn that was a pretty big hit!”
Also, I was thinking that this Packers defense could use a couple more players who can help make the Packers better. Because there isn’t much pressure involved in this game. Not even a lot of pressure in this game, and that isn’t even a surprise to all who see it.
So a lot of thought went into getting the Packers back on track. But honestly, I didn’t think they would be able to do that. I just wasn’t confident that the Packers was going to have a huge second half lead, so I felt like they could have gotten this over as long as they did at the end of the third or fourth quarter. The Packers got there on their own.
Finally, kickoff time was upon us. We lost the toss, so Oberon got the ball first. They moved the ball with relative ease on their first position, utilizing their size