Fall Means High School Football Across America
Fall, also commonly known as autumn, is upon us. The days are getting shorter, the leaves are turning colors, the kids are back in school and football is being broadcast on network or cable television seven days a week, 23 hours a day. Fall has always been my favorite time of year for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is, fall means football across America, and I, modestly speaking, was an awesome high school football player. Interestingly, the older I get the better I remember being but that’s probably just the effect of the concussions. If you were to look-up the word “Fall” in most respectable dictionaries, adjacent to the definition (the season between summer and winter when the days begin shorter and the weather gets colder) you would likely find a black and white sketch of a pig skin, a raw hide, a football. Just for the record, the word fall also means to drop, or to be defeated, captured or overthrown. All useful football terms — I’m just saying.
Like virtually every other part of the country, Friday nights in the fall are reserved for high school football games. From the time I was in elementary school, I can remember attending Eagles football games under the lights of Wendell Grubb Field at Mountain View High School. I idolized my hometown heroes and looked forward to the time when I would be old enough to don the blue, silver and white varsity uniform (imagine the Dallas Cowboys) and join my teammates in battle against our rivals in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
Just for the record, I didn’t start out as an awesome football player; it involved a maturing process over many years. Growing up on the playground meant you played two-hand touch or flag football every waking hour once school reconvened. Keep in mind, this was 1967-1974, long before soccer or water polo was invented so our options were limited. At recess, lunch, after school and every weekend in every neighborhood, it was just assumed that any and all available kids would gather and be divided up into teams (stud athlete all the way down to paste eater) and a game would ensue. Touch football is pretty self-explanatory, this was before it became politically incorrect and a form of sexual harassment to touch someone else unless you had their permission. Flag football, in its purest form, consisted of two strips of bright orange plastic attached by Velcro to a canvass belt. However, in a pinch, flags could be constructed of almost anything including Glad plastic bags, construction paper or my sister’s discarded bras. Both touch and flag football provided the fundamentals needed for the inevitable graduation to full pads tackle football.
Most high school gridiron wannabes ultimately signed up for Pop Warner football. Pop Warner is a youth football program where tween players are, for the first time, suited up in full pads, including helmet with chinstrap, girdle, to protect the hips and pelvis, and an athletic supporter (aka Jock). The Pop Warner experience can best be described as a test case in Darwin’s evolutionary theory as it is truly “survival of the fittest” played out three days a week at the hands of a group of sadistic coaches. It should be noted, in the yesteryear, the typical youth football coach never actually played the game of football. Or worse, he was the high school water boy or equipment manager. That meant the coach either had a grudge to bear or wanted to live vicariously through his players. Either way, the “coaching” was often secondary to the physical brutality of hitting drills to weed out the weak. Think dog fighting with cleats.
Football camp typically opens in early August. For those readers who are not football educated, “camp” is not about sing-a-longs and roasting marshmallows. Football camp is the start of practice and that usually means a torturous two weeks of double days. That’s code for two practices a day, six days a week in the hot August sun. Surviving camp, prepares the student athlete for the rigors of practice during the regular season when their schedule includes the hassle of attending classes, completing homework assignments and taking tests. Being a football star doesn’t give you a free pass when it comes to the books (unless you go to college in the SEC). As grueling as the schedule is, it’s all worth it when it comes to, pep rallies, marching bands, cheerleaders and ultimately game day. I would imagine that virtually every adult reading this article may recall the feel of cheering on their beloved school team in the crisp air of a star filled autumn night. If you were fortunate enough to strap on the pads and play in one of those memorable games, you are undoubtedly wiping the tears from your eyes and the sweat from you brow as you recall those euphoric and exhilarating times.
Freshman football is both frightening and exhilarating. The higher-level players quickly want to establish their reputation. It’s similar to being the new fish in prison. It’s usually a good idea to identify the toughest guy in the yard and beat him to a bloody pulp just to show the rest of the yard you’re not to be messed with. Let’s just say, I was rocked right out of my before mentioned jock, that first week of full contact scrimmages. That first season, I played mostly in the 5th quarter and as even the most unsophisticated of football simpletons know, a regulation football game only has four quarters. The fifth quarter allowed the really bad players to at least get their uniform dirty. I was that bad! Needless to say, life between the lines improved my sophomore year playing on the Junior Varsity. I worked my way into the starting line-up of a 0 wins-10 loss team playing both offensive lineman and linebacker. I made the varsity team as a junior, but that may only have been because, as my teammates and I played to yet another 0-10 record and we weren’t especially deep in talent. The interesting thing is, after that second winless season, our group of winless warriors committed ourselves to working tirelessly in the weight room, on the practice field and studying game film to be a better team. It’s amazing what a group can achieve if they rally together for a common cause. As one might expect our senior season was magically successful. Most high school athletes do not go on to play in college, which often means their last high school game/season is the pinnacle of their team sport experience. It’s great to go out a winner.
High school football in the fall is said to be a religious institution in states such as Florida, Louisiana and Texas. The movie, Friday Night Lights, based on the actual Panther football team of Permian, Texas, (changed to the fictional town of Dillon for television) epitomized what high school football means to small towns across the country. The popular NBC series portrayed an honest account of both high school and high school football that often had me cheering and choking back tears in the same episode. Another “must see” high school football movie (one inspired by true events) is the Oscar worthy, Remember the Titans. I dare any former player not to cry at that one. A few more HS football movies worth seeing include: The Program, Varsity Blues and Gridiron Gang. For those who prefer a good read, I recommend the fictional story, Bleachers by John Grisham. It’s a real tearjerker about teammates reuniting for their former coach’s funeral. Just for the record, it’s totally acceptable for former football players to cry. Despite the violent nature of the sport (it’s not a contact sport, it’s a collision sport) most players are protective and caring by nature.
A wonderful non-fiction read is When the Game Stands Tall by Neil Hayes about our very own De La Salle Spartans. When it comes to high school football, we are very privileged to live in close proximity to De La Salle High School in Concord. It’s Mecca for any true high school football fan. Bob Ladouceur, will likely go down as the most successful high school football coach of all time. From 1992 to 2004 he guided his team to twelve undefeated seasons, setting a national winning streak record of 151 consecutive wins. Entering the 2012 season, his record is 384-25-3. Coach Ladouceur’s 93.6% winning percentage is a national record amongst coaches with a minimum of 200 wins and he is the winningest high school football coach in the state of California. Under his leadership, the Spartans have won seven national championships, sixteen state championships and De La Salle has topped the USA Today rankings five times. De La Salle is one of the preeminent high school football programs in the country.
If I appear passionate about this topic, it’s because I am! It has been said that characteristics of a successful football player and team are keys to success in everyday life. The qualities of hard work, dedication, sacrifice, teamwork, determination and perseverance are attributes employers, friends and even spouses look for and admire. Since my daughters were little girls, I’ve been taking them to cheer on our local area high schools under the Friday Night Lights. I couldn’t be happier that our oldest, Hannah, is now a freshman at Monte Vista giving us a real connection to a team. Look for me the next time your in the stands at a Mustang game any Friday night this fall. I’ll be the guy wearing a red and black letterman jacket with a tear in his eye.
Side Bar: This piece is dedicated to my high school football coaches, Rich Ryerson and Dan Navarro. Additionally, I would also like to recognize several of my unforgettable teammates including; Russell Peoples #33, Tom Cooper #35, Frank Dowse #16, Eric Cook #90, Nick Siler #91, Chris Mateo #25, Mike Murphy #34, Wayne Kaku #55, Lon Tokunaga #47, David Olmos #26 and Chuck Smith #68. Even though our school was closed in 1981, we will always be MVHS Eagles forever. Mike #66
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