Do you know what time it is?

Do you know what time it is?

People, Evan has been waiting for this day since February. Soon the fire place will be lined with football helmets and season predictions. Soon the tv will only air the NFL channel. Soon all evening conversations will revolve around season ending injuries and debates about starting line-ups. 

People, it's the football pre-season! Evan is beside himself with excitement. This morning he recalled, in great detail, the first Cowboys football game that he completely understood and how upset he was with the coaching of Wade Phillips. We were living in Virginia in the eagle house. He remembered the final score of 43-7. He remembered going to bed in tears. 

He was five! At the age of 13, little has changed. There are still lots of disappointments, tears, and frustrations with the Cowboys. My hope is this season will give us more than eight wins!

Bringing Home the Trophy

Last night was the middle school football championships. The Hawks made it to the finals and played the team we had already lost to on two different occasions. None of us expected to win, but because the other team fully expected to win, they didn't and we did. The Hawks brought home first place! It was an exciting game and would have been even more exciting if Evan had played. However, he was benched after missing practices to attend his state league soccer game and his first middle school basketball game. Oh, the hardships of a true athlete!

Losing is Hard

We left the house this afternoon hopeful and full of excitement for today's football game. Despite perfect playing conditions, it quickly became clear that it would be a tough fight. We had a limited roster with several players out for fall break and three starters benched for breaking team rules. All of this while playing the top team in our district. 

Let's just say we lost big, real big. Losing is always rough - especially for this mama- but a huge loss means I don't get to see my boy kick the football. I take great pride in those long, high kicks. Few 12 year olds can kick 40-50 yards like Evan can. And to think a few years ago we used to joke that kickers weren't real football players. 

The highlight of our tough loss was running into members of our travel basketball family. 

Here's to a better game on Thursday, more opportunities to kick, and perhaps a win!

Homecoming Friday

In middle school, homecoming weekend means you ride in the highschool parade, and if you are lucky enough to get a ticket, you watch the highschool football game.

And that's it. No dance. No shopping for new clothes. No dates. No midnight pick-ups.

And if it's raining, you skip the game and hang out on the living room sofa. 

Thursday Night Lights

Few things make me happier than this. We kicked off the new football season tonight with a win over our rival school. The final score was 19 to 15. I would be proud if all Evan did was kick off the first play of the game because it was a beautiful high kick!

 

 

However, he also plays linebacker, and he tackled the other team's star running back on the thirty yard line as he ran for the in zone. On third down, Evan did it again near the twenty yard line, and those two tackles ensured our win. 

 

 

 

 

I'm on pins and needles and awaiting his first interception.

 

Football is His Thing

Over the past four years our lives have been consumed with sports and schedules. Everything we do seems to revolve around the next practice, the next game, or the next tournament. Summer has been no exception. 

The next two weeks Evan will be at football camp. While he has an awkward shot from the shoulder in basketball and while he may be a bit too deliberate when passing the ball in soccer, he has, oh be still my heart, a beautiful football pass. This week he has been working out in the QB position. Despite temps hovering near one hundred degrees, early morning wake-ups during the summer vacation, and a scorching turf field, he has not complained once. He has even smiled - just not in public when Mom and her camera are around.

Football is his thing. Beginning in the next month, he will be consumed with rankings, schedules, and injuries. He will talk non-stop about any stat that he finds interesting. He might even drive us a little crazy with all of his football talk, but come February the season will end, and the sparkle in his eye will dim until next August. 

Though I prefer his passion would be something a little safer, I am giddy with excitement for this season and the excitement it brings to our lives. 

The Lone Wolf and Pam Oliver

The final football game of the season could not have gone any better. Snap five and Evan ran up the middle for a touchdown.

A few plays later, Evan ran up the middle again for the two point conversion. 

We won 27 to 6, but as much as Evan might have celebrated or as much as others might have congratulated him, this is where he stood when the defense took the field. 

One could argue his interest in the game is so intense, he can't be disturbed by sideline chatter. He stands next to the coach listening to play calls. He contemplates the strategies for winning and absorbs the entire game day experience. 

Or one could argue he is the Lone Wolf. The boy who would rather contemplate the game on his own, rather than listen to the opinions of the group. The boy frustrated by the mundane chatter of the other boys. The boy overwhelmed by the large group and much more content on his own. 

Either way, it was such a joy this fall to watch him play the sport that brings him such happiness. 

All season Evan has dismissed and doubted my football knowledge. He has shared all of his new plays and game plans with Wes and has assumed I couldn't possibly understand such a complex game of throws, catches, and runs. I'm a female, after all, and my wisdom is limited to advance mathematics and analytical reasoning. But today Evan paid me the highest compliment. He called me "The White Pam Oliver" of football. Finally, my voice will be heard! I'm reading "Football for Dummies" in the off season to live up to these high expectations. 

Until August.

Savoring the Win

Look at those smiles! The Hawks left today's game with a win - the only win of the regular season. 

In the after-game recap, Evan received kudos for two blocks that led to two touchdowns!

Let's hope this winning streak will be good for one more win! 

Game Day - We Like to Lose by One Point

 Today I finally got to watch my big guy play a game of middle school football. I'm sad to say that we did not win; it's tough to win when the center can't snap the ball, though. I have never wanted to play football before, but today I wanted to run onto that field and snap the ball myself. There are only so many high snaps and dropped balls a girl can take. I hit my limit today.

By the way, I see this picture and find it terribly hard to believe that my boy is only 11 and already taller than I am.










In the fourth quarter, things were looking a bit better. We got a new QB and the hand-offs were a bit smoother. It was too little too late, though. Evan had a 21 yard run with three minutes left in the game.

 

 

In the next possession, he ran the ball on the outside, cut back into the inside, and scored!

 



I'm so glad I got to see it!

 

The final score: 19 to 20. We get another try at it next weekend, but before Saturday rolls around again, I think I'm going to try my hand at recruiting. I know a team in need of a center!

Football Fever

Today was the kick off of the football season with the annual Football Jamboree. Evan was pumped for game day - if you call quiet, composed, and introspective pumped. So perhaps on the outside he didn't appear to be pumped. However, on the inside I know he was excited. Quiet in his world often means excitement.We were at the game site two hours prior to kick-off. I think someone else was just as excited!

Evan was chosen as a team captain. This is quite the honor since he is the only sixth grader that starts on the JV squad.

He played every snap our offense had as one of the two running backs. (He is #45 and has on red socks.)

The third snap of the game Evan got the ball and headed to the in-zone. He made it 5, 10, 15, and even 25 yards.

 

And then it was stripped from his hands. He owes Wes 100 push-ups for not protecting the ball.

He later made up for it with several 5, 7 and 12 yard runs through the middle and on the right side.

In the end, we won 14 to 6. Next weekend is our first full game. Evan's goal is quite simple: secure the ball!

Are you Ready for Some Football?

It's the first day of middle school football practice. I am wondering if he smiling this big at practice right now. I'm guessing he is rethinking that second helping of barbecue chicken he had for dinner tonight.

Evan is one of three sixth graders that made the middle school team. I'm so stinkin' proud of him! Best thing is, he is playing middle school ball and there are no rules for big boys carrying the ball! I can't wait for our first game day!

Fantasy Football

Last year Evan wanted to create a team in a fantasy football league, but he waited too long and missed the opportunity. This year he was determined to create a team and participate. He did his homework and made a list of possible draftees before draft day arrived. He was ready.

He was at the computer today three hours before the draft opened, waiting patiently for it to open, all the while debating his need for two kickers (I told him two weren't necessary; he didn't listen to me), his first choice (I said it needed to be a RB; he chose a QB.), and the best tight end (to my dismay he didn't chose Witten).

He was beside himself when in his rush to get his picks in on time, he accidentally chose Romo for his QB instead of Wilson. He tried all afternoon and night trying to get Romo traded. He knew he had no chance of getting Wilson, so he attempted to get Tannehill. He wrote to another team manager, "Let me keep this simple. I take Tannehill. You take Romo." No trade transpired. 

Tonight Yahoo scored his draft choices with a grade of B-. His team is predicted to finish in third. That's pretty good for an 11 year old competing against adults; he of course, thinks it's horrible. He later told me, "Mom, you were right about not needing two kickers. I was wrong; remember this because it doesn't happen very often."

Punt, Pass, and Kick - Sectionals

In August Evan won the local punt, pass, kick competition on post, and he won a spot to compete in the sectionals competition in October. It just so happens that we also had a soccer tournament that same weekend. We couldn't believe our luck when we learned the two events were both in Kentucky and only minutes apart. We couldn't have planned it to be any more convenient. Evan left his first soccer game, competed in the football event, and then raced back to the soccer fields for game two. 

First up, the punt, and the event he spent the most time / effort working to improve. Even though we know accuracy is a key ingredient in winning, Wes calcuated it was 60 "something" feet. Math has never been his strong suit.

Then it was the pass. We think this was about 70 feet.

Last, it was the kick, and this was more than 90 feet.

He had a total score of more than 200 feet, a score much higher than his first competition. Because we were in such a hurry to get back to the soccer fields, we didn't see how the other boys in his age group did. And now we are just waiting to see if his total score was high enough to qualify for the team level. 

I think he might be just a little bit excited about the prospect of competing at the next level. I found him asleep tonight cuddling his football. 

Little Boy Dreams

One of Evan's biggest dreams came true this week. I know he is only eight and big dreams at this age constitute buying a new Wii game and twelve months of summer vacation. Perhaps his dream is more of a milestone. He is none the less excited.

His dream? He is attending football camp at one of the local high schools.

His dream might have been dashed just a bit when he found out he wasn't actually playing in the stadium, and he might have have been just slightly irritated when the head football coach spent more time working with the 10-14 year olds on the first day of camp. This was all erased from his mind today, though, when the coach referred to Evan as the key player.

The key player! When I went on and on about what a great compliment this was, Evan replied, "It's not that great, Mom. It's not like he is a college or pro coach. Now, if someone important said that then it would mean a lot."

And just like that. His little boy dream changed. His dream has been altered to include playing for bigger people and their even bigger stadiums.

Where's the Flag, Ref?

When Evan came up from making a tackle today spitting out grass, another mom of a player from our team yelled, "That's what I like to see. Tackling so hard you take a bite of the ground!" I knew instantly we were meant to be best friends. I wished I would have seen her more often on the sidelines because with this little comment, I felt an immediate connection. It's not every day I find another mother who follows the game as closely as I do, or who yells at the ref when bad calls are made. She didn't bring a magazine to read, and there was no collapsible chair on her shoulder when she arrived. She was pacing the sidelines with each play just like I was. However, today was the last game of the fall season, and beyond the introductions of "Hi, I am Jordan's mom" and "I am Evan's mom", we were so caught up with missed holding calls, we didn't make much conversation. Wes says I will meet plenty of moms just like me once we get to Georgia, but my experience tells me that today was a unique situation.

I have registered both boys to play in the spring. I think Keagan was persuaded to play by Evan because Evan wants so desperately to win next season. He believes that he and Keagan will play the roles of Romo and Witten (those are Cowboy greats for you non-Texans), and in the months ahead, they will perfect a couple of plays (ie Evan will pass the ball to Keagan and watch him run) that will take the other teams by surprise. No one will expect the small white boy to be any good. I am certain Evan is banking on this!

Thanks to this season's coaches who proved that Evan was ready to play the game of football and that God gave me boys because He knew how much I would enjoy bundling up in forty degree weather to yell, "Holding!" and "Where's the flag, ref?"

First Football Game

No practice. No hour long drills. No skills camp. This was the real thing. Evan's wish to play a game of football finally came true! I have always hoped that he would find something other than football to love and play. Even if I grew up in Texas where football players are next in line to God, I have always thought that most football players are just plain dumb. Very few players actually have much going on other than speed or a tight spiral, and because my boys are near geniuses, they really should be playing some sport other than football. Or so I thought until today. 

Watching my baby score his first touchdown and make more tackles than I can count was enough for me to change my mind. If I can be a soccer mom, then I can be an even better football mom. And with Wes wringing his palms together while pacing the sidelines next to me, I think we can even be the parents that wear matching jerseys with our son's number 19 and TOOLE emblazened on our backs. Watch out Team 3! We're ready for some football!

Are You Ready for Some Football?

If the Cowboys are playing, then we are all ready for some football. However, Evan takes the prize. He has the helmet, the boxer shorts, and the couch. Like a real man, he is ready for some Monday Night Football!

But there is only so long you can sit and watch a game. Sometimes you just have to get up off that couch and play the game with your little brother.

Football Scrimmage

Today was Evan's first football scrimmage. He played safety, his position of choice, and even though his team lost, I am very proud of him for keeping up with the older boys who had stronger skills and much more experience. Just as I predicted a year ago, he has told me that if he can only play one sport this fall then he wants it to be football. He says he wants to play full contact (one league begins full contact at the tender age of 5!!!), but we have found a flag football league that we think might be a better fit - especially for Mom.

Football Frenzy Begins

Evan had his first day of football camp this morning. For two years he has asked to play football and we have been hesitant to allow him to play. We might be from Texas where football is the sport of choice and Evan might have been able to do a three point stance at 18 months, but we were really hoping that he would find another sport to play. But this spring I relented and signed him up for a week long program. Because this particular camp is non-tackle and a beginner skills camp, I thought it would be a good way to introduce Evan to the game. And I also thought that he would give up the idea of playing football after spending 2.5 hours in the July heat running monotonous drills with kids three and four years older than him. However, today Evan went to camp with a temp of 75 degrees and overcast skies. Strike one for mom. Even if he was the youngest, he was as big as the nine year olds and felt at no disadvantage. Strike two for mom. The drills that the coach demonstrated for the boys were actually quite complicated and kept Evan's attention. Strike three for mom. When we left, I reminded Evan he still had four more days. Again, I was thinking(hoping) he might not be as ethusiastic about playing. However, he response: "Only four?"