Lessons from the Locker Room Essay

A forward-looking chapter began in my life on the low sidereal day of ninth grade. That day, I went to my first day of freshman football game institutionalize. Although I knew a teensy-weensy about the game, I had never played football in the beginning, so I was somewhat apprehensive about what ability happen. The coaches guided us finished a series of tests designed to place us into the appropriate positions, although more than or less of the computerized tomographys already knew where they would be playing. I did everything the best I could, and was in brusk assign to civilize Green and the linemen. Through that twelvemonth I never got to swallow a game, just the things that happened both on and off the field with the separate players do me very interested in what would discern in the future. The exists of that year set the stage for my entrance into varsity high instill football, an experience which would shape much of my life.Before allone can join the vars ity football group, he must complete a series of tests. However, these tests are non like those at m each schools. Coach has a philosophy that anyone who is voluntary to pay the price should be allowed to be on the team. Based on that philosophy, numerous criteria are presented to all the would-be players at the beginning of facility for the season. When I first saw these criteria, I thought that they sounded very simple. They consisted of such(prenominal) things as getting into bed by a specified beat distri merelyively shadow, eating healthy, coming to five organiseouts in the pass, and not absent a practice for any reason other than family emergency. Little did I know, they would, in the exterminate, be much more costly than I in the first place thought.After our freshman season was over, some of the players on the team were presumption the luck to move up to the varsity team for the playoffs. I took reward of the opportunity, and quickly found myself in the middle o f a close-knit family. At that point, I understood very little of what was happening. However, I knew for sure that I cherished to learn more. That season ended at our rivals field in defeat on a cold night in late November. In the storage locker room after the game, nigh of us cried as we realized what this meant for the seniors of that year and for that team. For the first sequence, I watched guys abuse and hug apiece other as they used their love for each other to pull themselves through the feelings of disappointment. Coach call outed together those of us who would appoint the team of the following year, andtold us to prepare for plenty of hard work in the off season.The first day back in January, I had my first formalised test. This test would be the benchmark by which each player would judge his progress in the off season. The test time-tested our speed and strength, merely the workouts would test our heart and our commitment. The close day, we had our first offici al workout. We spent the first week with coaches giving us demonstrations on victorian technique in weight lifting. Within two weeks though, we had begun in earnest. Fridays were speechless for peculiar(prenominal) workouts. I still remember my first one. It was supposed to be an speed body lifting day, and the youngest of us were rather confused when we were told to leave the upper body room and go into the locker room. We all dreaded what might be waiting for us. each(prenominal) we actually did through the whole xxx minute workout was what seemed like a thousand pushups, but that day began a special bonding process. Within five minutes of beginning, more or less of us were already extremely tired and ready to quit.I am not sure that I ever knew who was speaking, but all that I can remember was intensly painful muscle cramps and the encouragement being yelled by my teammates. At that importation when failure seemed just one more pushup away, we began to develop a sense of responsibility to one another. All that I knew was that we had to work together if we were going to have a fortuity to be what we could be. The one voice I can remember was a teammate of mine. I remember him lying three guys over, sweating and push as he struggled to keep his body off the ground. At the moment when I felt that I could not go on any enormouser his eyes met mine. He quietly told me to never give up and to fight as long as I had the chance. I merely nodded to him and regulated that I had to make it through.After several more agonizing minutes, Coach told us to get in our half mile before we leave. As I jogged around the track, I thought to myself about how onerous varsity football was going to be. As the workout ended I thought to myself, just bury me right here. I decided, however, that I would be able to make it through with the help of my teammates. We had several more special days, but whenever I would say that I could not go any longer, I would remember m y teammates going through the same thing and be strengthened. Very quickly, the summer was upon us. At first I thought that the summer workouts would be a carbon copy of the ones which we had during school, but I wouldsoon find I was wrong.The first thing that I noticed was that attendance at summer workouts was optional. However, this proved to be more beneficial. Because people were not required to come everyday, most days only people who wanted to be on that point would come. There were always some guys who could be counted on to be there. These guys were the ones who last formed the core of our team. Friday was once again mute as a day for a variant kind of workout. The first Friday of that summer I was introduced to a superset. In a superset, Coach would decide on a series of exercises, and we would go through the circuit as some(prenominal) times as possible in the time available. These undoubtedly were seen as something of a competition to see who could do the most, but eventually we would all get tired and slow down. Coach noticed our deceleration pace and our fatigue, and he asked us why we had been slowing down. Of course he knew the answer, and he quickly asked us another question.His next question though, was much more difficult. He brought up a hypothetical situation in which we had reached the fourth quarter of a game and were all very tired. Coach asked us if, when the fourth quarter came, we were going to quit and take the lucky way out. Of course we all answered that we would play with everything that we had. Then he made a very simple statement. Coach told us that if planned on being able to give things our all in a game, we had to practice fighting past the pain. jibe to him, to do anything less would be exchange ourselves short of the potential that we had. From that time on, we gave all that we had in every opportunity we had. We fought through the summer workouts together, and gradually became more and more dependent on each oth er. We began to realize that we would have to put together everything that we had learned and good all summer if we were to survive the last two weeks before school started.The last two weeks before school started is known as plurality. Camp is the last hurdle to be cleared before someone is an official team member. We practiced from one till nine for two weeks that year. By the end of the two weeks, we were all strained physically, mentally, and emotionally. Each night, I would come home, shower off, and slump into bed. Then, I would proceed to coat my legs in a layer of Flex-All. While there were moments when some of us likelywondered if the end of Camp would even come, it did eventually arrive. However, eventually the end of the two weeks came. I vividly remember the last night of Camp. We practiced until our regular time, but then a team meeting was called at the fifty-yard line.Coach congratulated us for making it through and told us it was time for story time. We spent the n ext twenty minutes running from coach to coach at different places on the field, and listening to stories about something that had happened on that spot of the field. All of the stories told were base on what it means to be a part of the team. Through these stories, the coaches multi-colored vivid portraits of past team members who had been willing to go beyond the call of duty for the team.I do not remember the details of many of the stories very well, but I do remember the story told by another coach. He told the story of a guy from a team several years removed who had really shown what it meant to be a mustang. According to the story, the quarterback had thrown an interception when the team was already down by a touchdown in the fourth quarter. One of the quarterbacks teammates, a guy who had never really been a standout player, was not willing to let the argue team score as a result of the interception. He ran from the contrary side of the field and was able to tackle the gu y ten yards short of the goal line. Coach claimed the player had never run as warm as he did on that night.Spurred on by the effort of their teammate, the exculpation made a strong stand, and the team fought back to win that game. I expected to hear a lesson about giving it all you had, but instead, Coach had something different in mind. He told us about the greatness of picking up the slack for everyone else. He reminded us that in the time we would spend together, not everyone would be perfect on every play, but that we would still be alright if we all did the best we could.This year has been a very interesting one. As a senior captain on the team, I have had a responsibility all year long to help lead the team. During the workouts, I would often find myself shouting encouragement to the younger players as they struggled. Many of the seniors have gone beyond their responsibilities for the interestingness of the team. But these lessons do not stay confined to the field and the locker room, for I often find them having aneffect on me outside of the football environment. Coach has taught us that we are examples everywhere that we go.Any time there is a decision that I must make, my thoughts inevitably bring me to the question, Is this something applaudable of a Mustang football player? I believe that my experiences in football were critical to me successfully overseeing a class day as lowly class president while I was short handed. I think I would have been tempted in the past to just give up. I was so intent on not giving up and on doing everything I could possibly do for the team (in this case, the class) though that I knew I had to depend on some other people and, with their help, work everything out.