Lessons Learned...

I think it's hard to be a 15 year old kid and make decisions that you cannot possibly realize the importance of in the future. The teenager played football his freshman year, but really had enough and had no desire to play his sophomore or junior years. I would have preferred he play, but he didn't think he was good enough and really disliked the coaches. I think now he regrets that decision. He's been getting a lot of playing time, but is not a starter. The boys who have been together for four years are mostly starting, although there are a couple of kids who have been standing on the side lines for 4 years, who really still get no playing time. I think the teenager is quite blessed to be getting as much as he's getting, but also, since three weeks ago we didn't know if he'd be able to play at all, I feel considerably lucky to be seeing him on the field period. I'm sure it's frustrating for him. He's huge, and he's really very good. Good enough that his coaches told me to make sure to register him with the NCAA clearinghouse so that college coaches can talk to him. They think with his size and grades and ability, he just might have a shot at a scholarship. We'll see how his knees hold up, and athletic scholarships are few and far between, but the thought is nice! I think he's learned a hard lesson though. That maybe sometimes we need to do things that seem terrible at the time so that we can have a better future. Tough lesson.