Lessons from the game reverberate through the years

By Ernest Hooper, Prep writer emeritus
Published August 31, 2007

As we drove home from the football complex a couple of years ago, I couldn't contain my pride.

My two sons clutched their new Brandon Cowboys jerseys, jerseys they had earned through three weeks of grueling practices.

The time had come for a pep talk.

I told them that while others had dropped by the wayside because of tackling drills and wind sprints, they had survived. I told them while friends had settled for the sedentary lifestyle of video games, they had made a more difficult choice and lived to tell about it.

And now that they had their jerseys, I told them no one could take that away from them. No matter what, they could show the community they had placed team over self and sacrifice over settling to earn a spot with the Cowboys.

My oldest, who was 12 at the time, looked at me and said, "Are you repeating some speech given by an old coach?"

Okay, maybe I got carried away. My belief in sports, however, results in such inspiring thoughts. Though my own athletic career included only a few forgettable seasons of church league basketball - well, I did hit a last-second shot against First Baptist of Tallahassee - my years as a prep sports writer have convinced me sports offers intangible values that go well beyond wins and losses, and that some former players attribute lessons learned on the field to better lives off the field.

You see it every year: a coach becomes a father figure, a teammate becomes a brother and a passion for the game fuels a drive in the classroom. A helmet and shoulder pads give purpose to a rudderless life.

Measured in these terms, the value of football cannot be underestimated.

Of course, football is not a perfect sport and not every player ends up with a happy ending. There are those who fail to take advantage of the opportunities and those who are exploited by a system that can place talent above tutelage.

It can be argued our society puts too high a priority on sports in general and football in particular. Certainly, we need to study how everyone who wears a uniform for a high school or college can get more out of the experience than the fleeting glory of the game. The connection between athletics and academics needs to be strengthened.

But don't tell me football should have no role with our kids. Too many times it has been the difference maker for youths who stand at the crossroads of good and bad.

You can measure the impact immediately, or you can wait 10 or 15 years and find former players still shining brightly though they have left the Friday night lights behind, like Brandon's David Schonacher (Class of '96), president of an engineering firm.

I know that because I see Schonacher at Brandon Cowboys practices every day.

He is coaching his son.

That's all I'm saying.

[Last modified August 29, 2007, 13:30:53]