Game Tomorrow

We have a game tomorrow. I am still sore and still from the last match. I fear that my age is finally catching up with me. I counter that dread with the accusation that I am not physically prepared for season like I promised myself I would be. I also take comfort in the fact that the team we played last week was good.



I hate that I am entertaining the idea that I am feeling aged and that my maladies are due to the progression of time. I am not ready to concede my youth to middle age. I think I know how Brett Favre felt during each of those comebacks. The desire to play the sport always seems to override the nagging pain and stiffness as well as common sense. I guess I can take some motivation in the fact that year after year he played the game with heart and made an impact on his team, which is all I really seek to do.

He, however, had over a decade of experience to impart on his fellow players. I still feel like a new guy. I find I am still learning something each game. Unlike a wily old veteran who survives by anticipating events because of his catalogue of experience, I still survive by generating motion; something that seems harder this week. I guess to the rookies I am a sage veteran, but the truth is I feel inadequate to the task of leadership because I am only a 4 or 5 games ahead of the rookies. But as one of my favorite quotes says "Leadership is action, not position". As long as I can still generate action I can make an impact.



This week's practice saw 26 players man the pitch. I think I speak for all of the guys who played during the Spring season, it was truly motivating to see. I can remember showing up to the Lindenhurst Gym with snow on the ground to run drills with 5 and 6 guys. In fact just 4 weeks ago it didn't look as though we were going to have enough interest to field a team. I hope the new guys get filled with a passion for the sport like I did my first year. It is why, despite the pain, I will lace up my boots and pull on my Gladiator green jersey for another 80 minutes on the pitch.