Jaden's 1st Junior High Football Season

I've kind of been putting off writing about Jaden's 7th grade football season because... well... I feel like I could maybe write a book. And an emotional one at that. When we one day look back at the year of Covid and everything we went through in 2020, no doubt the roller coaster ride of Jaden's first junior high football season will be one of the things that we remember most vividly. Covid impacted our family in a number of ways - big ones and small ones - as it did for most families. But the opportunity to play the sport Jaden loves so much - and our opportunity to watch him play the sport he shines in - took a direct and hard hit thanks to the pandemic. And yet...

And yet, boy were we blessed through the trial and the adversity. Even as I sit here thinking back and typing it all out, I'm getting misty-eyed. This sport is so much more than a sport for us. And Jaden took the rough hand he was dealt and lead his team with maturity and leadership not often found in a 12 year old. 

This kid...

I'll start at the beginning with an attempt to make a long story shorter. All spring and summer we weren't sure what school would look like in the fall - let alone fall sports themselves. When the invite went out for pre-season football camp for junior high students up at the high school, we celebrated the small victory that it was. We thought that was a sign that the boys would be granted a season and embraced that week of camp in August where Jaden - apparently - shined. By the end of those first few days of camp, it was obvious he was being groomed to play quarterback again. However, halfway through camp the 7th grade football coach told me in a hushed voice over on the sidelines that the season was in doubt and that it didn't sound like the boys would be allowed to take the field as a team in the fall. We were crushed but held our breaths and awaited more news.

And then the news came from the Holmes Junior High AD via email. There would be a team. There would be practices. There would be no games scheduled. And if we were lucky - maybe we'd get a scrimmage or two at the end of the season. Us parents - the whole lot of us - were devastated for our boys. These years are flying, and you only get so many chances to play this sport - so many years to grow and learn and get better and make memories from it. And yes - Jaden was incredibly bummed. He was angry and sad and frustrated. But what did he do? He showed up at practice on the first day during his second week of school and went to work. And in the midst of that first practice, Coach Ward told Jaden that he would be the one - to lead his team in the huddle at the end of every practice. To lead their rally cry in the locker room. To jack up his teammates and bring them together as a group and as a team that would grow together and play together even after Covid was over. Coach Pierschbacher told the 7th grade boys to think of this as their redshirt season - much like freshmen in college experience - and to use every practice and chance they had to get better. Because eventually - someday - they would play a game. And then they would play more. And high school isn't that far away.

And these players of ours went out and worked every single day after school - when it was hot - when it was cold - when they were allowed to wear helmets and when they weren't. And through their efforts and resolve and thanks to our community Covid numbers, a few weeks into the season we received word that they would be allowed one game at the end of the season - against cross-town rival Peet Junior High. And to make up for all the games they wouldn't get to play - the administrators arranged for that one special game to take place on the high school football field - under the lights. They were given pads to practice in, allowing full contact - finally. And in preparation for their special night they were each given a varsity high school jersey to wear - the same jerseys worn by a past team in the State championship.

I showed up to practice every chance I could. I sat up on the hill and watched this boy of ours blossom in front of me. Always at the head of the pack. Always close to a coach. Always coaching and directing, himself. And when practices were over, he was usually the last one on the field - always huddling with coaches after his teammates had long left to head back to the locker room. And by the end of the season, I started hearing a familiar phrase as players jogged off the field. "Don't let Jaden do it without me!" "It" -- referred to the Holmes Tiger football chant that Jaden had been leading since day one. These boys and this team looked forward to that at the end of every day. It was their bonding moment, their team battle cry... and I believe... a way to celebrate that Covid had not taken everything. 

And for Jaden it became about more than football. He bonded with his coaches. They prayed for him during practice when they found out his great grandma had died. They prayed with him one on one after practice when he was alone on the field waiting for me to pick him up and they weren't sure yet what Covid would do next. I picked him one day and he said, "Mom -- they remind me of what I think Ed Thomas would have been like." He grew up a little bit on that field. Covid couldn't take that away. And though they didn't get to play the games they should have, the time they did have was that much sweeter and more appreciated.

And then one beautiful October night, it was finally game time. And though I was a nervous wreck because I knew how much this moment meant to him, this one was steady and calm. 

...and also a lot bigger than me all of the sudden...

There he goes... our #21 taking the field for the first snap... earning that starting QB nod and ready to go to war with his brothers. I can't quite describe what that moment felt like for me as his mom. Running out onto the same field that I once cheered on. Looking so old and grown up in the blink of an eye. Proud of him for staying the course and for leading by example and for being so dang humble about all of it.

The whole night was kind of surreal. His name was called over the PA system all night long, as he also played linebacker and recorded a number of tackles in addition to his QB play. There were cheerleaders on both sides of the field and a scoreboard all lit up for them, and the stadium bleachers on both sides were packed. It felt more like a high school game than a junior high game and all night long, I kept thinking: "Thank you God. And please keep him safe."

And though the game didn't go entirely our way, Jaden couldn't have done much better. And -- he stayed safe.

When the game was over, Jaden initially didn't want to say much to us on the sidelines. Until he spotted his Papa Bob further in the distance and immediately broke down into tears and collapsed into Papa's chest. It was over and he was crushed. Not because they had lost but because there wasn't more to be played. And because he didn't want his time with this group and these coaches to be over. This wasn't the first time he cried at the end of a football season - he did so at the end of one of his last flag football seasons, too. This game is in his blood. 

After the dust had settled, the next day, I asked him what it felt like to play under the lights in front of such a big crowed with his name being called repeatedly over the PA system. His response? "I didn't even notice it. I just played."

There is more to come, buddy. There is more...