I "played" for a bit in my freshman year of HS. Mainly, I did the preseason six week workout program...which was tough and I felt like I was going to die daily running around, running up hills where...if you fall...not only do you fall down the hill but you go into a ditch of water. That hill killed me. I lied when coach asked me if I ran "Round 2" and I said "I just did". I think he saw I was dying and let me off the hook cause I couldn't do it (I was a smoker in HS as well...so that didn't help). By the end of the six weeks, though, I was in great shape.
I played on the offensive and defensive lines (offensive and defensive tackle). We practiced plays and all. I never learned them. I had no clue what I was doing out there. Those playbooks were useless on me. I never blocked the right guy. I used to get knocked around because I was smaller than the other line guys. I did 180s in the air. They used to make the freshmen play the seniors during practice. How fair is that? But, when I did actually do stuff like run-tackle drills against comparable size players (which there was one other player my size), I was able to execute well solely against him. I ran into some big players during those drills and those guys didn't budge. They were like walls. It's not fair to put small players against big players like that. I guess they couldn't cut me. I don't know why I played football. I thought it would be fun but blocking sucks. I wanted the glory but not the work. lol
Anyway, I got hurt doing some trivial running. I think I pulled a hammy running to the sidelines during halftime warm-ups for the second half. Saw a doc and got x-rayed per coach's orders. He didn't find anything. Huh? I wasn't faking. Yet, I could barely walk and could not run for two months after. Didn't fully heal for like a year. I think I only played in one game on a few plays my entire career. Had no clue what I was doing. I was slow. I ended up transitioning into basically the "water boy" and the guy who did the chains during games. I had to complete my P.E. football credit somehow and I was injured.
And, that sums up my lousy football career. But, hey...I got to say I was on the team, was part of the team picture, and went to a few pep rallies. I was glad to move on. Much prefer watching the sport. Good news...I was a good baseball and soccer player back in the day. Football just wasn't my thing. I did enjoy throwing the pigskin with the old man and playing street football as a kid, though.
