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Reflections on High School Football

Started by SR30, November 20, 2018, 11:06:01 pm

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SR30

As I leave FF I have to say for the most part the conversations have been fun. Of course none of us agree on anything and we all know everything. I ran across this today on social media and it really puts high school ball for parents and players in perspective. I may check in time to time on the 4A boards as my wife teaches at HHG. But for the most part it is time to close a chapter. To all the friends and enemies made over the years it has been fun. Take care and may your favorite team always be successful.



Most people, even parents, don't really understand what it means when a senior football player's season ends.  They don't understand the true finality of it for 95% of these kids.  You can play baseball/softball in rec leagues forever.  You can always play a game of pick-up basketball.  You can play golf and tennis as much as you want when you get older.  You can run track and enter 5k or marathons till you die.  But most high school football players will never ever put on a helmet and play the same game again.  You go from being totally and completely immersed in a game you love to being totally and completely shut out from it.  That is incredibly difficult.  Football is not a lifetime sport....but high school football IS a once in a lifetime experience.

blackandoldgold

Quote from: SR30 on November 20, 2018, 11:06:01 pm
As I leave FF I have to say for the most part the conversations have been fun. Of course none of us agree on anything and we all know everything. I ran across this today on social media and it really puts high school ball for parents and players in perspective. I may check in time to time on the 4A boards as my wife teaches at HHG. But for the most part it is time to close a chapter. To all the friends and enemies made over the years it has been fun. Take care and may your favorite team always be successful.



Most people, even parents, don't really understand what it means when a senior football player's season ends.  They don't understand the true finality of it for 95% of these kids.  You can play baseball/softball in rec leagues forever.  You can always play a game of pick-up basketball.  You can play golf and tennis as much as you want when you get older.  You can run track and enter 5k or marathons till you die.  But most high school football players will never ever put on a helmet and play the same game again.  You go from being totally and completely immersed in a game you love to being totally and completely shut out from it.  That is incredibly difficult.  Football is not a lifetime sport....but high school football IS a once in a lifetime experience.

+1 ... but don't leave FF. My kids graduated years ago but still I'm here on FF. People ask me, "Who are you going to see play ball Friday night, what kid?" My answer, "I don't know a single kid on my team. Just going to watch & support my team."

And visit my friends while there.

We live a long time thinking of DOING STUFF with friends. Once we get older We realize it's really doing stuff WITH FRIENDS that counts.

I feel your pain & your child's pain in having his football career ending, but know this. They are part of a a fraternity that will last a lifetime. The memories will last a lifetime too.

And just wait until your kids have kids. Your get to live vicariously through your grand-kids yet one more time.

One kid that graduated with me had the privilege of watching his son & now his grandson play on the Rison team.

Life is good. Literally take it 1 day at a time & enjoy it (SR30).

Hgalum50

Quote from: SR30 on November 20, 2018, 11:06:01 pm
As I leave FF I have to say for the most part the conversations have been fun. Of course none of us agree on anything and we all know everything. I ran across this today on social media and it really puts high school ball for parents and players in perspective. I may check in time to time on the 4A boards as my wife teaches at HHG. But for the most part it is time to close a chapter. To all the friends and enemies made over the years it has been fun. Take care and may your favorite team always be successful.



Most people, even parents, don't really understand what it means when a senior football player's season ends.  They don't understand the true finality of it for 95% of these kids.  You can play baseball/softball in rec leagues forever.  You can always play a game of pick-up basketball.  You can play golf and tennis as much as you want when you get older.  You can run track and enter 5k or marathons till you die.  But most high school football players will never ever put on a helmet and play the same game again.  You go from being totally and completely immersed in a game you love to being totally and completely shut out from it.  That is incredibly difficult.  Football is not a lifetime sport....but high school football IS a once in a lifetime experience.
Gonna miss you buddy, but sure hoping you still check in on the 3A board. We have had alot of good battles with those Beavers, and it won't be the same without you on these boards.

blackandoldgold

Also HHG is the smallest public 4A school based on student enrollment this classification cycle according to the AAA. So who knows, they may be in 3A some day.

SR30

It will be nice to go watch a Friday night game and not worry if you miss a play your kid makes. We are fortunate enough that he will be playing on Saturday next season so I will be wearing a college hoodie instead of a Letterman jacket. Idk if HHG will ever make that drop back down. It seems the have a waiting line of students.

Jimbo Morphis

Quote from: SR30 on November 21, 2018, 11:05:40 am
It will be nice to go watch a Friday night game and not worry if you miss a play your kid makes. We are fortunate enough that he will be playing on Saturday next season so I will be wearing a college hoodie instead of a Letterman jacket. Idk if HHG will ever make that drop back down. It seems the have a waiting line of students.
Congrats to him for getting a chance to play at the next level. Hope he stays healthy, gets a degree, and has a great time.

sevenof400

SR30,

As a parent who found himself in the same situation you are describing a few years ago, I can testify that you are correct in that you will never look at a high school contest the same way again.  No matter what teams may be playing, you'll always see visions of your kids playing on that field when they graced the pitch/field/court/course/etc.  It's a lot like Field of Dreams when the various characters fade in/out of the corn.....

As two of mine went on to becomes college athletes, I can only pass along this thought - I hope your son is ready for the change required in his sport because at the next level, it becomes more of a job.  This is NOT to say it isn't fun, but the time requirements multiply exponentially.  The best advice I could offer is that I hope your son has developed the skill to use his time wisely because that skill will be put to the test in college.

Best of luck to your son in college. 

WHITEchicken

Sr30. It has been a pleasure reading most of your stuff on here. For the most part you seem to know what you are talking about. I hope to continue to read more in years to come.

blackandoldgold

Having mentioned the Haskell HG program, it brings to mind a connection that HHG has to my alma mater Rison. Coach Jimmy "Red" Parker.

He graduated from RHS & years later, through a legendary coaching career, eventually found his way to his last coaching stop at HHG.

A humorous story from coach Parker follows:

As HHG was starting their football program, coach Parker was asked about the kids there & how much they knew about the game. With a grin he said he knew it would be an uphill battle. The kids were eager to learn & get started. The team dressed out to meet him for the first time. Coach Parker looked out at the kids & ... they were looking back at him through the earpiece hole in their football helmet.

He was just joking of course.

Obviously he knew it would be a learning curve to start a new football program, but he loved kids & was all in.

Also fittingly he coached his last game, HHG at Fordyce. Fordyce where he coached his very first game.

So from a being a student at Rison to finally ending his career at Haskell HG, those two schools will always have the love of coach Jimmy "Red" Parker between them.

SR30

I did have the pleasure of meeting coach parker but never got to know him. My memories of him will forever be him and his golf cart. No matter where he was it would be on that golf cart. He will forever be a legend in arkansas high school football.

BAMA#16

My son played his last game two years ago, what a ride it was. We got to make three trips to War Memorial three times, freshman, sophomore, and senior years. We got to attend Hootens ceremony, and the Arkansas quarterbacks club, but I would definitely trade all that to see him play one more time.

SR30

November 22, 2018, 03:41:41 pm #11 Last Edit: November 22, 2018, 04:19:31 pm by SR30
Unfortunately no championship games at WM for us. It was always a dream for sure. However playing next level was always his goal. Although he may not play for our beloved Razorbacks he does have the opportunity to play for the other Arkansas team that has been bowl eligible for 8 years in a row now. God has blessed him with talent on and off the field.

BAMA#16

Quote from: SR30 on November 22, 2018, 03:41:41 pm
Unfortunately no championship games at WM for us. It was always a dream for sure. However playing next level was always his goal. Although he may not play for our beloved Razorbacks he does have the opportunity to play for the other Arkansas team that has been bowl eligible for 7 years in a row now. God has blessed him with talent on and off the field.
Good luck to your kid, and enjoy watching him further his career.

WonderWartHawg

November 22, 2018, 05:22:50 pm #13 Last Edit: November 22, 2018, 05:26:54 pm by WonderWartHawg
As an OHD (Original Hedge Dweller), I enjoyed this story from Parker's time at Rison:

Parker Recalls the Cutting of the Hedge

  Parker graduated from Rison in 1950 and was part of the 1948 Wildcat
team that shared the District 8-B co-championship, the first
significant acheivement for the football program.  Some people believe it was
that season that planted the seed for Rison to become one of the most
sucessful small school football powers in the state.
  But Parker's legacy at Rison extended beyond the gridiron.  In fact,
it literally surrounded it.
  Parker was one of the students who helped plant the famed hedge
around Wildcat Field in 1947.  Part of the hedge remains behind the home
bleachers along Main Street.  "We didn't help plant them - we did plant
them," Parker said.
  At one time, the hedge extended all the way around the north endzone.
  The hedge is no longer there, which brings up another story from
Parker.
  Ironically, Parker happened to be the coach at Rison when
then-Superintendent Reck Wallis decided to cut down the hedge around the endzone.
  It seemed to Parker that perhaps Wallis' intentions were to get rid
of more than the hedge..
  "Mr. Reck Wallis called me in right after that (the hedge being taken
down)...and he asked me within two weeks after that time if I would
help break up that bunch of rowdy guys down in the endzone at home
football games," Parker said.
  That rowdy bunch became known as 'The Hedge Dwellers,' a tradition
that continues even today.
  Getting rid of the Hedge Dwellers was the furthest thing from Parkers
mind.  In fact, Parker liked the Hedge Dwellers.
  "I said Mr. Wallis, that is the best thing there is, I don't care how
rowdy they are," he said.
  "It was such a pleasure to walk out there with all that, you know,
and he wanted to do away with that," Parker said.  "I said 'You've lost
your mind!"
  "It got better then," he said.  "I slipped out the word that they
wanted to get rid of them and it really got crazy then."

ETA by poster:  Supt. Wallis had no idea of the repercussions of taking down that hedge. He knew nothing of the Rison tradition.  Needless to say, his stay as Supt. at Rison was pretty short.

Dr. Defense

Quote from: blackandoldgold on November 22, 2018, 12:50:51 pm
Having mentioned the Haskell HG program, it brings to mind a connection that HHG has to my alma mater Rison. Coach Jimmy "Red" Parker.

He graduated from RHS & years later, through a legendary coaching career, eventually found his way to his last coaching stop at HHG.

A humorous story from coach Parker follows:

As HHG was starting their football program, coach Parker was asked about the kids there & how much they knew about the game. With a grin he said he knew it would be an uphill battle. The kids were eager to learn & get started. The team dressed out to meet him for the first time. Coach Parker looked out at the kids & ... they were looking back at him through the earpiece hole in their football helmet.

He was just joking of course.

Obviously he knew it would be a learning curve to start a new football program, but he loved kids & was all in.

Also fittingly he coached his last game, HHG at Fordyce. Fordyce where he coached his very first game.

So from a being a student at Rison to finally ending his career at Haskell HG, those two schools will always have the love of coach Jimmy "Red" Parker between them.

Played for him too and loved him to death. Stayed in touch with him until he passed

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