Senior Year Box Set

“I didn’t expect you’d be here,” I tried.

He just laughed at me. I knew it wasn’t worth the energy to throw him out. Wolf came up behind me and touched my arm.

“It’s time.”

I walked out with Wolf and Tim and found that it wasn’t just the varsity waiting for us. Both the freshman and JV teams were in the stands as well. I could tell the varsity was nervous. I think they expected me to yell at them.

“Can we all just agree that last week was a dumpster fire?”

With that, they relaxed a little, and some smiles appeared. I read the phrase ‘dumpster fire’ on a football message board and felt it fit what had happened.

“I was mainly responsible for it, and I want to apologize to you for letting it happen. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to get distracted. I don’t know if all of you know, but I was attacked by a recruit’s father at Oklahoma. Long story short, he’s going to be okay.

“I also have responsibilities outside of school and football. I own several businesses, not that that’s a bad thing. It’s just that the responsibility of it all finally caught up with me,” I said, and then began to pace.

“I didn’t focus like I should during practice last week, and that’s on me,” I said, and paused. “I guess we all recognized that Lakeview wasn’t the toughest opponent on our schedule. It was the classic trap game, and we all but fell into it.”

I could see them start to get uncomfortable again. They knew that they hadn’t taken Lakeview seriously.

“Let’s admit some hard truths,” I continued. “The intensity of practice last week sucked, and we were all sleepwalking through it. We didn’t take our opponent seriously. After that game, it should be clear that we can’t just show up and expect to win. Every single team, regardless of talent, has circled our game on their schedule. Even a team that hasn’t won a game, like Lakeview, can rise up and steal our dreams.

“I made a commitment after we won state last year to get back and win it again. You can be part of a historic run in Lincoln High’s football annals by winning three straight. What you have to realize is that no one is going to just hand it to us. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of people who will actively try to take that dream from us, if we give them half a chance.

“Over the weekend, I’ve had time to reflect on what happened last week and what we must do to never let that happen again. I understand my role in all this. But even though I’m the captain, if I have a bad week, it can’t affect how you prepare for or play in a game. You can’t use me as an excuse to half-ass it and take it easy. You have all spent too much time lifting weights, running, honing your skills to let that happen. I know that you’ve worked hard physically to prepare for this year. What I need you to do is to get your heads out of your butts and get back on board mentally,” I said, heating up.

Wolf started to jump in before I said something that I would regret, but I stopped him with a look.

“I guess what I’m saying is we have to make some changes around here. Looking back, I realize I’ve failed you as a leader. I’ve made you too dependent on me setting the tone. This team can’t be all about any one player, and that includes me. I need you to start to step up.

“I especially need underclassmen to start to act like leaders and not followers. My long-term goal is that after I leave, you all continue to win the conference and hopefully state championships. Yuri, Rock, Phil, and all the rest of you who are underclassmen, that simply will not happen. Not unless you take responsibility for setting and working to your own standards of excellence. That means your standards, your work, your

discipline.

“My dad told me something once that seems to apply here. It’s ten simple words that I try to live by. They are: If it is to be, it is up to me. I know that football is a team sport, but it starts inside with each of you. That simple phrase gives me the courage to not sit back and let others dictate my success. It’s up to me to seize the day and make things happen. I challenge all of you to start living with that simple phrase in mind. Not only in football, but in life.

“If it is to be, it is up to me. For me, that sums up last week in a nutshell. We all failed last week. Most of that was on me, but moving forward, it will never happen again because you no longer have me to blame. Like I said, you need to set your own standards for excellence. You need to take responsibility for how you’re playing.

“You also need to be a good teammate and point out to each other if someone isn’t true to themselves. We all have off days and need to be reminded of what’s important. I look at last week’s game as a wake-up call. We all know what almost happened. If it weren’t for Ed’s heroics, we would have lost that game.