Football season is almost here...

Hi Friends,

I played a lot of soccer when I was young, we'd play Spring, Summer, and Fall leagues and some indoor over the winter as well. It was during the years where you would rotate positions to see which one you were a little more prone to. I played a fair amount of soccer during those years and had every opportunity to help the team by scoring goals...except I didn't. I didn't score a single goal, not one over the course of around 40 games or so. It just wasn't the sport for me. I enjoyed being outside, making friends, the capri suns, the orange slices, and the pool parties, I was great at those aspects of playing...but not so much at scoring goals, or defending, or stopping balls from going into the goal. So after 5th grade it was time for a change. 

I started playing football in 6th grade and they immediately put me on the 8th grade team. It was great...except that I was intimidated by everyone on the team and no one would talk to me...and for good reason, I suppose. I was asked to sub in for a guy and tell the quarterback what the play was, well since I didn't know anyone's name, I kind of just made up the play.  Luckily for everyone, the quarterback realized I was clueless and called a time out. 

It might have been a rocky start but I stuck with it and by my senior year of high school I was named Captain. The good news was that once I found my footing in football, I was able to enjoy being outside, making friends, the capri suns, the orange slices, the pool parties, and help the team towards our goal.

Needless to say, although I'm not excited to think about summer ending, I am excited for football season.  Both the Packers and the Badgers have high hopes and should be exciting to watch. While I was never good enough to play at the college or pro level, I still took away some great life lessons from playing, like persistence and perspective that stay with me today.

All the best,

Matt