Overcoming Failure: The Middletown Lions Football Team

It was opening night for our football team, a chilly night in September against one of our rivals, the Nickerson Panthers. The stands were packed like a can of sardines. Our team had been ruling the scoreboard all night, but now the panthers were in the red zone threatening to score. Three years ago we wouldn’t have had a chance against this team, but now we had the upper hand. Through the weightlifting program and improvement of team building, success is inevitable. Our football team is a great example of how hard work and great leadership not only pull a group of kids, but also a whole community together.

The Quotes I have chosen that speaks out to me the most is by Ronnie Lott and Jerry Rice. “If you can believe it the mind can achieve it” ~ Ronnie Lott. “Today I will do what others won't,so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't”~ Jerry Rice. The Reason I picked these two quotes was because both quotes inspire me to do good put in hard work and not to give up till the job is done. The way it applies to me is it helps to show me that if you want something you need to go and get it done yourself with hard work, determination,Grit, and Perseverance. The quote by Ronnie Lott meaning of it to me is anything you want to happen it can happen the right mindset you can accomplish anything you set your mind to whether it be to win a state championship

1. It was important for us to be reminded of our goal. There would be days when we will not do so great in practice but at the end of the day we still wanted to win. But how could you get the score you want if you can’t put the hard work that it takes to get what you

Walking out onto the opponent’s brightly lit turf field setting up for the kickoff of the second half just gave me the feeling that everybody knows, my hair starts to stand up, butterflies began to flutter in my stomach, and everything seems to slow down. Looking into the stands and seeing that our hometown fans had traveled four hours in order to outdo the home crowd gave me a sense of comfort. Looking into East Jefferson’s stands and seeing that our fans, despite having to travel all the way down south, outnumbered their fans by at least 70 people. I found myself thinking that this meant just as much to our town as it did to our school and team. This feeling would be just the motivation we needed in order to finish this game

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will” (Lincoln Library 85). This was one of many quotes Vince Lombardi has spoken throughout his professional life.

“Losers talk about losing and winners talk about winning.” Wise words from The North County coach, a High school football team that we played earlier in the season. This regular season was more of a bust for the Windsor football team than anything. After putting up a decent season last year going 4-6, but leading the area in total offense, Windsor had high hopes for this season. Unfortunately Windsor dropped off and not only had one of the worst defenses in the area, but also one of the worse offences this past regular season, even though a year before the offence was a power house. What really happened this past season though and why did the owls finish this season 0-9?

Have you ever felt like you’re not good enough, not knowing just how much potential you have? One of the most salient experiences of my life was making the Island Coast High School football team, because it taught me that to succeed you must be confident in yourself. The old me would have thought, “ I’m not good enough,” because I never thought that I could compete with kids that already played football. I suppose that I always felt like i couldn’t compete with football players because whenever I would play football in eighth grade, I would not be able to keep up with them. Little did I know, all of that was about to change the day I made my way to the middle of the humid, scorching fied, staring into the eyes of North Ft. Myers Highs’ freshman football team.

The UNR football team is divided amongst a variety of demographics and characters. After close review and analysis of my observation of the UNR football team, I could not depict a certain demographic that stood out because everyone is particularly different in their own way. Meaning that there is no dominant race, religion, or social class in regards to the players or coaching staff. Furthermore, there is also an abundance of different types of characters on the football team. Upon observing the UNR football team, I found that many players and coaches act differently. Some players/coaches are loud and tend to be the “clowns” on the

Summer, a season where many are free to do whatever they please and not have a worry in the world. This is not the case, however, for a high school football player such as myself; for classes being released marks the start of another season, not summer, but football season. It was a hot day on Mount Diablo High’s football field; I could already feel sweat dripping down as I stood there in my armor. Players were separated between two categories: Skills players and the Linemen. The coaches came and said we had to do hitting drills to start of practice. So the linemen, Erik, D’antae, Xavier, Charlie, Jarreck, Anthony, Josh, and I, created a circle and waited to see who the coaches would call out first. To my surprise, there was someone in the

“How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.” –Lou Holtz. While this quote is directed towards sports, it also speaks to those who are not athletes. As in football, if something great is happening after a past of struggle, one should not become lazy and let this amazing thing slip away. Also, if a situation seems hopeless, how one reacts to it represents who he or she is as a person. A person can give up and give himself no chance despite what the outcome may be in the end.

“You aren’t going to find anybody that’s going to be successful without making a sacrifice and without perseverance,” -Lou Holtz. Lou Holtz was an American football coach. That means that he’s seen dozens of men have to persevere around personal obstacles in order to be united and play together. Perseverance plays an important role in success, whether is be something big, or something small, perseverance is always necessary. The idea of perseverance even in the face of obstacles is expressed in similar and different ways in “Hunger” by Richard Wright, and President Barack Obama’s speech to students on September 8, 2009.

"We just got to know their is a to more football to be played," senior safety Jarrod Harper said. "One loss isn't going to dictate our season, what this season has in store for us. We just got to regroup and come back this week and have a strong performance this week. Just be focused and locked in all week. Just get even more familiar with our opponent this week and come ready to play Saturday."

However, the second half did not bode as well. One interception, one dropped touchdown pass, and one fluke punt later and there’s 6 seconds on the clock, when Griswold throws a screen pass to a man under triple coverage in the end-zone. Touchdown. Final score after the extra point is 27-21, them. I can honestly say that was the most crushing defeat of my life, to have victory in your hands just to watch it slide away like sand; the harder you grasp at it the faster it slips through your fingers. With all the errors made in the second half I asked myself “what if?” more than ever before in my life. At first I even resented my teammates, some of my best friends, for making such costly mistakes. However, the more I let it sink in the more I realized that I couldn’t let the loss affect me in such a negative way.If there is one thing I learned from this failure, it is that years down the road, I know how I remember the past will say a lot about the person I am going to be. I don’t want to dwell on the failure. Instead, I’m going to look back and remember the fun I had with my friends, the discipline, respect, and dedication I learned, and the what is definitely one of the best games I will ever play

But the pride had 110% confidence in their selves. This may have been one of the hardest/encouraging game yet, we knew we could not lose to them. In the middle of the 4th quarter our starting quarterback had gotten injured, everyone took off their helmets and got on one knee. There was no more sound of laughter, chanting, singing. It was all serious, a teammate to us is not just a teammate, he is family. The sports med crew had ran out there and helped him, we could tell he was in a lot of pain but we knew he would be just fine. Everyone prayed and hoped he would be fine. 10 minutes later the trainers carried him off the field we didn’t know what was wrong with him yet, but we still had to continue the game. There was 5 minutes left in the quarter and the score was 35-42 with the pride still in the lead. The time went fast, with the 4th quarter coming to a end. The pride had did it, they had one by a shocking touchdown. At the end of the game we all went to our injured quarter back. We all went on one knee and smiled at each other, we now knew we had a special bond, not only in football but in our

Vince Lombardi once said, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” Most people throughout the world strive for success in whatever they may be doing, and along with this, many reasons contribute to why success is achieved or not. If a person does not succeed, they may automatically blame themselves because of their level of strength. Others may blame themselves for not having enough knowledge about what they are trying to succeed at. The real reason that people may not succeed, however, is their low level of will, determination, and happiness. Both knowledge and strength combine to help a person succeed because of the will and determination that