Okay, so, let me tell you about this whole thing I did with the East Jackson 10u football defense in 2023. It was a real trip, start to finish.
First off, I gotta say, I’m no pro coach or anything, but I love football, and I love working with kids. So, when the opportunity popped up to help out with the East Jackson 10u team, I jumped on it. I started by just watching, you know? Seeing how they played, what they were good at, what needed work.
The first practice I attended, I just observed. Took some notes like a real nerd. I saw a few standout players, like this one kid, Drew Richardson, who was just a natural. I watched a few games, too. They won some, they lost some, but it was clear there was potential.
Getting My Hands Dirty
After a couple of weeks, I started to get more involved. I started by leading some basic drills. Nothing fancy, just some tackling practice and some drills to improve their footwork. It was pretty rough at first, haha. These kids were full of energy, but they didn’t always know how to channel it. Also, I recognized some of them from social media, a bunch of them are following me, around 913 or something, can you believe it? The following is not so much, maybe because I am more focused on sharing my experience, and haven’t followed back, just 46.
Slowly but surely, we started making progress. I tried to make it fun, you know? It’s 10-year-olds, it has to be fun. We did a lot of games, competitions, stuff like that. One of the best feelings is seeing their improvement, not just in skills, but in their teamwork, too. There was this one game, I think it was in late September, where everything just clicked. They played as a unit, communicated well, and, man, they shut down the other team’s offense. It was beautiful to watch, also, this game was a big win! I still remember the parents were shouting: “GO EAGLES!”
The End of the Season
We didn’t win every game, of course. But, by the end of the season, they were a completely different team. I felt like a proud papa bear, watching them play with confidence and heart. And hey, we even had a little end-of-season party. Pizza, soda, the whole nine yards. It was a good way to wrap things up. The most important thing is that they can have a great experience.
- Wins: We had a few big wins.
- Losses: Yeah, we lost some, too.
- Lessons Learned: Teamwork is everything. Also, 10-year-olds are crazy.
So, that’s my story about the East Jackson 10u football defense in 2023. It was a wild ride, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I don’t know everything, but I tried my best. These goals should center on a positive experience for every athlete. And I hope I can help more and more teams and kids in the future, maybe from August 20, 2022, to May 20, 2023, or maybe a longer time, who knows?
