Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009 | 2:06 a.m.
You will only get to play in roughly five home football games during your senior year of high school.
That’s five opportunities to compete in front of family and friends, surely creating memories that will last a lifetime.
It doesn’t matter if you score three touchdowns a game, fail to crack the starting lineup or only see the field on special teams, those games are the same for every athlete — a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Some players will be lucky enough to advance and play in college, but that is a small percentage. For the rest, this is your one chance to shine, your Rose Bowl, Super Bowl and football playing life combined in three months.
The action begins this week with more than half of the Las Vegas Valley’s large-school classification teams scheduled to play.
Always optimistic, most athletes are confident their team is going to win the state championship. While winning is important, it shouldn’t be what defines the season.
What is most important is the journey.
It’s running onto the field with your teammates, those lifelong friends you played touch-football with on the playground during elementary school. It’s eating dinner with your family after a game and rehashing each play.
Don’t rush through the season or complain when practice runs long. Take each game, each play and each Friday night like it is your last, because it soon will be.
Wear your uniform — that beautiful orange and black of Chaparral, my alma mater — with pride. Sing your school’s fight song with spirit. Be there to support your teammates.
And remember what is most important — having fun.
Football, after all, is a game. It’s a game you are fortunate to be part of.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected].
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