Beginning of the End (No Regrets, Part I)

Today, my U16 Tigers took the field for the final time this season. Our season ended much as it began: in crushing defeat. With a final record of one win (as a result of forfeit) and seven losses, it is safe to say that this season was not one of the more shining beacons in the annals of gridiron history. Truth be told and my players would attest to this as well, we did not have much to work with for the majority of our time together. Players came and went; some quit, others moved away, a few even headed Stateside as part of various exchange programs (and have continued to learn the game in their adopted domiciles). We were heavy on skill players and light on heavy players, a combination that often spells disaster for teams at this age group. We scored two touchdowns each on defense and special teams and another on offense, for the season. One of my kids even got his ass kicked (literally, when he blocked an extra point today).

I choose to reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly (mostly the latter two) here not to cast a negative light on my first season as a head football coach, but rather to do quite the opposite. Despite inconsistencies in attendance, a few attitudes that required some adjusting, limited knowledge of the game and the aforementioned lack of size, there stood a dedicated core of young men (and occasionally one young woman) who wore the black and white this year and put forth their best effort. Though it may not have seemed it at times, especially considering we share very different viewpoints on what effort is and is not, I recognize now that these kids all did one thing constantly: they tried. New drills. New schemes. New techniques. Whatever was asked of them, they attempted. It wasn't always pretty, but it was certainly always there. As a coach in my present surroundings, I would be a selfish man to ask for much more (okay, five kids over 250 pounds would be nice...).

We focused on the basic fundamentals of the game: running, tackling, blocking, ball skills. Over and over and over again. Given that we only met twice a week, we couldn't afford to do much more. But from this coach's standpoint, improvement manifested itself in each player across the board. They became more comfortable, more fluid and more natural as the weeks went on. This is a testament to the repeated effort which I spoke of earlier. I yelled at 'em, gave 'em a hard time (a phrase which doesn't translate here and I had to later explain in greater detail) and worked 'em with the help of my two very devoted assistant coaches and although one couldn't tell based on wins and losses, the kids each became tougher and more hardy. If they continue to build upon the things we worked at all season and all do a little growing, I firmly believe these kids will be a problem to opposing teams in years to come.

Although my record would probably stand as grounds for termination in most programs back home, I sit here now happy to have had the chance to work with some special young people over the past six months. We really developed into a tight little group and I'm honored to have been a part of it.

Before I go, I wanted to share something that came to mind today. It's been nine years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93. I was in Mrs. Banfield's third period English class watching CNN and initially thought the images on the screen were some kind of staged special effects. My gut response as a fourteen-year-old was, ''Oh, cool!" and then I came to realize what we were watching was as real as could be. We were a certainly a class of bewildered little freshmen and as the day wore on, we all started to recognize the magnitude of what was happening. I recall that all after school activities were canceled, including football practice. As I looked out over my players today, it donned on me that these kids were the same age I was when such events took place. Pretty wild; I thought that was a pretty interesting way to remember the day and then some.

Football has always been closely tied to September 11th for many, as the NFL served as a key rallying point for patriotism at the time. Personally, it was around that time in my life that I really became interested in the game. I had only started playing about a month or so beforehand and I loved it from the get-go. This was also when the Patriots dynasty was in its earliest phases, lead by a very young Tom Brady. I remember watching that team and being inspired by their on-field exploits. Those times really helped define where I would hold football in my life in the years to come. I can't think of a better way to honor them than by sitting down now to this week's Marist online broadcast, in lieu of going out for a while. Doesn't get much more American than that, even in Denmark.