This was Max’s first year playing football for school. He’s played countless times with his friends, with Ben, with cousins….but this was the first time he played on an actual team. And he surprised us with a few things.
1.- He was pretty scared to get tackled/make a tackle. Which I totally get- I can’t say that I would feel comfortable having people running straight at me with the intent to throw me to the ground either. But we really didn’t think Max would feel that way, especially after watching him throw himself all over the place during hockey games with no pads on whatsoever, or flailing himself at people when playing football on the beach. He battles/wrestles/rough houses all the time, so we didn’t anticipate this reaction. But he toughed it out, got ran into the ground several times, made some tackles of his own, and slowlllllllyyyyyyy got a little more comfortable with it.
2.- Games make him very nervous. He’s so afraid to mess up a play and have his coaches and teammates upset with him. He did start to enjoy them more toward the end of the season, but he definitely preferred practice days over game days. His team was undefeated though, so that was fun.
3.- He had a wart ripped off during a game. This was a bonus, because his warts are pesky things that don’t want to go away. He didn’t even realize it had been ripped off until one of his teammates noticed blood running down his leg. He gave me a thumbs up while his coach wrapped his leg, because he knows his momma is all kinds of nervous.
He sounds like he’ll try playing again next year, and hopefully he’ll grow a little too (it ain’t easy being the smallest kid on your team).
He definitely relaxed more as the season went on, and I’m so proud of how he handled himself through everything because it wasn’t easy for him. No matter what, we’ve repeatedly emphasized that we just want him to enjoy whatever he does.
And we’ll gladly sweat to death or freeze to death watching him and cheering him on. 💙
And get bit by No-see-ums😂😂
Good job Max-GO BEARCATS!
Love the picture of him running with- looks very determined to tackle anyone in his way!!
So proud of him for pushing through the nerves! Game days bring all sorts of funny feelings to the table.
Also, dying over the photo of him walking next to #65 and #55. I know they’re on his team, but no wonder he doesn’t want to get tackled!