Practice Begins

It's finally here. The start of fall football practice. 2-a-days are a right of passage for any boy interested in the game. Grueling heat, starting at dawn when it's only 90 outside instead of 105, running bleachers and gassers. All of this torture is what we live for.

I am several years (20 or so) out of my prime, but I still remember the feeling of pure excitement and joy you get from the start of practice. The season is full of hope and possibilities. You never know how it will turn out, or whether you will accomplish your goals.

Football taught me lessons I still use today. The ability to work as a team, the idea that you don't succeed until everyone is across the goal line, and the desire to sacrifice and pay a high price for a reward. All these help me daily in my professional and family life.

To the uninitiated, football seems like a violent game for adolescents. But it truly is a training ground for future success.

My son (Jay) is now 3 1/2. I wonder if it's too early to make him start running gassers?