Throughout my five years of playing, I’ve always been asked one simple question: why? As simple a question as this seems to be, there is no simple answer. At first I played because my father bought me to the highly exclusive seven-year-old flag football league at Shen. When you’re seven, you don’t really question much; I was dropped off at practice and attempted to play football. I then took a six-year hiatus during which I don’t really remember exactly what I did with my life. I do remember my first (and only) flag football touchdown. I received a handoff on the outside and ran for a TD. The amazing part is that I can still vividly remember scoring this touchdown, and I remember nothing else from the entire season.

I returned to football the summer going into my sixth-grade year. I joined Shenendehowa Junior Plainsmen, and was “drafted” to the Warriors. To put things lightly, I was not the best at football. I had no idea how to block or what blocking even was – a bit of an issue for a tight end, and I wasn’t a fan of the whole hitting thing. To put things not as lightly, I was the worst on the team, and my draft stock was quickly falling. I needed to make an impact play and show the coaches what I could do. My first full contact football scrimmage finally arrived. I’m not sure what changed or how it happened, but I became an All American that day. I finally realized that if I ran really, really fast and didn’t stop, that tackling wouldn’t hurt me and would look really cool. I had something like twenty tackles that day, and the coaches noticed. I quickly became as much as an all star as a twelve year old on a kids team could be. I loved every second of it.

This continued the next year, but I was not able to play my eighth grade year as I couldn’t play modified football due to the fact that I did not attend Shenendehowa. Freshmen year I returned, and started on JV. Sophomore year I made my varsity debut and loved it, even though I didn’t play very much. Junior year, all 150 pounds of me won the starting position of center. For some reason I could snap well. Now this might seem an easy task, but it is anything but easy. Imagine having the pressure of starting the offense and remembering the snap count, while a 250-pound defensive lineman stares you down the entire time, just waiting to hit you. See, that lineman can make life difficult. Luckily, I was quick, I could get underneath all my opponents very fast, and drive them back just enough for the running back to get by. Junior year was also the first time I received a concussion. It was not fun.

Senior year I became a starter on both sides of the ball, center and linebacker, and was also elected captain. This meant the world to me; the pride and accomplishment I felt cannot be described. I also suffered another concussion, but it was worth it. I loved every second of my Senior season. It was hard to say goodbye to a program that took me in as an idiot freshman, and spit out a not-as-much-an-idiot Senior.

So why football? Football has made me who I am today. Maybe at the time I started I didn’t realize how life-changing it would be, but I knew I had to play. Football has taught me how to get up after being knocked down. It has taught me there’s a difference between losing and learning. Football made me a part of something larger than myself; it gave me something to be passionate about. I understood what it means to give everything for your team, and that those kids you start practicing with in August become your brothers very quickly. I believe it is a disservice to yourself not to play football at least one year of your life. Despite the concussions and bruises, playing football has been one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I am eternally grateful to my coaches and teammates for guiding me and sticking with me for this experience.