Sam, the Football Player

John and Becky's 12 year old boy, Sam, decided to play football this fall instead of soccer. He signed up on the sixth grade team in the Blue Valley League. His team, the Eagles, is sponsored by the Ascension Catholic Church and they have all the necessary equipment for games and practices, as much equipment as a high school.

I went to a game they played on a local middle school field and was amazed at how good those sixth graders are. Most of the kids executed their assignments quite well. The quarterbacks were pretty good at passing, the receivers caught most passes, and the kids were reasonably good at tackling.

Of course, they committed a few infractions, for which they were penalized, such as off-sides, illegal use of hands, and blocking from behind. But all in all, they were surprisingly good.


In this picture, Sam's team, the Eagles, are in green. Some of the boys on the opposing team looked pretty big for the sixth grade, but maybe they're repeating the sixth grade for the second time around.

"Sam, the Football Player" is playing at left tackle, number 48.

The Eagles lost the game, but I thought they played well anyway.








Here's "Sam, the Football Player" after the game standing between my son, Greg, and I. Sam was tired and I'm sure he will be sore tomorrow. But that's the life of a football player.

That's my daughter and Sam's Mother, Becky, in the pink top coming up behind us.

Nice game, Sam!