Water breaks and whistles
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Water breaks and whistles.
Each has importance to every football player, but that especially rings true in the hot summer month of August. Both are essential as players endure the heat of summer, and the only way to get a drop of the ice cold H2O is by the sweet sound that echoes from the whistle.
Two-a-days are here, scrimmages are next week, and the regular season is around the corner.
Ah, yes, just like a heated player needs that drop of water in the 90-plus degree heat, we (the fans) need to know the great game of football is almost here.
Can’t you hear the smack of the shoulder pads wavering in the air?
But this week (and into next week) has been fun so far, as I’ve had the opportunity to interview coaches and players from Hillsboro, Washington, McClain, Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace and Madison-Plains. Soon I will be speaking with players and coaches from London and Paint Valley.
The coaches and players have been nothing but respectful in giving their time and answering questions. The coaches have been asked most questions I’ve asked numerous times before each season as the names of the players change with each passing year. As for the players, I hope the questions that have been asked to them brought back memories of football days past and brought excitement for the arrival of the upcoming season.
Because within one of the shortest seasons (10 games) of the athletic year (besides spring sports), football flies past us like a wide receiver on a post route, as the receiver is one step ahead of the cornerback, racing toward the endzone.
It is amazing how players and coaches who are so polite in the offseason and away from the game can be so intense, and for lack of a better word, (insane) once the whistle blows and the blue sky turns to black on a Friday night during late August until the final days of October (hopefully into November).
I’m not saying that is a bad thing.
If anyone has ever played football, at any level, they know the feeling because if football is played soft, bad things can happen. Football can bring out the best in us, and I know from experience, football can bring out the worst in a productive citizen in a community. (Good times.)
But, goodness, football is a great thing.
Though I will say I’ve enjoyed meeting and talking to players that I’ve watched for the few years on the various battlegrounds of the SCOL, while getting to sit down with coaches I’ve only spent a few minutes with after a hard-fought game with preseason interviews.
It shows that these players are more than just a number in a home or away jersey. It shows how much the coaches actually care for their players, their sport, and their community.
The players and coaches I’ve spoken to have pride in what they do and honestly care about the tradition of their school.
Whether a school is slim in football tradition, or if the tradition is a case lined with golden trophies, the players all have mentioned they want to either start, keep or bring back the tradition of their school while playing on the gridiron.
That is something which has to be respected.
Players and coaches want their community to be proud of the school they represent. They want to represent their families, friends, teachers and neighbors each time they buckle up the chin strap, shout out a complicated-sounding play in the huddle, and they definitely want the opponent to know who and what they represent.
That is the great thing about football.
No disrespect to any other sport, but where does one sport, except possibly basketball, bring out such intensity in an entire community?
How many people go to a barber shop on a Saturday morning and talk about a game that happened on a Friday night?
Heck, I cover the games, and recently I was at my gym lobby talking to an old classmate about a Washington Blue Lion and Clinton-Massie game he attended two seasons ago. I was covering McClain vs. Miami Trace that night, but I do remember talking to a fellow sports editor on the phone that night with him explaining the final minutes in detail of how the Blue Lions kept their fight in the SCOL alive.
That is what is so great about the game of football. The details of the memories. I am sure other sports are the same way, but I only played football and baseball.
So with the season just a mere 20 days away, I want to thank all the players in the SCOL (and Paint Valley of the Scioto Valley Conference), in advance, for all the memories that will be made.
Trust me, I won’t forget.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
Each has importance to every football player, but that especially rings true in the hot summer month of August. Both are essential as players endure the heat of summer, and the only way to get a drop of the ice cold H2O is by the sweet sound that echoes from the whistle.
Two-a-days are here, scrimmages are next week, and the regular season is around the corner.
Ah, yes, just like a heated player needs that drop of water in the 90-plus degree heat, we (the fans) need to know the great game of football is almost here.
Can’t you hear the smack of the shoulder pads wavering in the air?
But this week (and into next week) has been fun so far, as I’ve had the opportunity to interview coaches and players from Hillsboro, Washington, McClain, Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace and Madison-Plains. Soon I will be speaking with players and coaches from London and Paint Valley.
The coaches and players have been nothing but respectful in giving their time and answering questions. The coaches have been asked most questions I’ve asked numerous times before each season as the names of the players change with each passing year. As for the players, I hope the questions that have been asked to them brought back memories of football days past and brought excitement for the arrival of the upcoming season.
Because within one of the shortest seasons (10 games) of the athletic year (besides spring sports), football flies past us like a wide receiver on a post route, as the receiver is one step ahead of the cornerback, racing toward the endzone.
It is amazing how players and coaches who are so polite in the offseason and away from the game can be so intense, and for lack of a better word, (insane) once the whistle blows and the blue sky turns to black on a Friday night during late August until the final days of October (hopefully into November).
I’m not saying that is a bad thing.
If anyone has ever played football, at any level, they know the feeling because if football is played soft, bad things can happen. Football can bring out the best in us, and I know from experience, football can bring out the worst in a productive citizen in a community. (Good times.)
But, goodness, football is a great thing.
Though I will say I’ve enjoyed meeting and talking to players that I’ve watched for the few years on the various battlegrounds of the SCOL, while getting to sit down with coaches I’ve only spent a few minutes with after a hard-fought game with preseason interviews.
It shows that these players are more than just a number in a home or away jersey. It shows how much the coaches actually care for their players, their sport, and their community.
The players and coaches I’ve spoken to have pride in what they do and honestly care about the tradition of their school.
Whether a school is slim in football tradition, or if the tradition is a case lined with golden trophies, the players all have mentioned they want to either start, keep or bring back the tradition of their school while playing on the gridiron.
That is something which has to be respected.
Players and coaches want their community to be proud of the school they represent. They want to represent their families, friends, teachers and neighbors each time they buckle up the chin strap, shout out a complicated-sounding play in the huddle, and they definitely want the opponent to know who and what they represent.
That is the great thing about football.
No disrespect to any other sport, but where does one sport, except possibly basketball, bring out such intensity in an entire community?
How many people go to a barber shop on a Saturday morning and talk about a game that happened on a Friday night?
Heck, I cover the games, and recently I was at my gym lobby talking to an old classmate about a Washington Blue Lion and Clinton-Massie game he attended two seasons ago. I was covering McClain vs. Miami Trace that night, but I do remember talking to a fellow sports editor on the phone that night with him explaining the final minutes in detail of how the Blue Lions kept their fight in the SCOL alive.
That is what is so great about the game of football. The details of the memories. I am sure other sports are the same way, but I only played football and baseball.
So with the season just a mere 20 days away, I want to thank all the players in the SCOL (and Paint Valley of the Scioto Valley Conference), in advance, for all the memories that will be made.
Trust me, I won’t forget.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]