Sep 225 min read

The Dawn of an Era

Gosh dang?!

i thought this one wasn't going to take forever...

But it has.

Already spent over an hour and a half getting lost in the bath of pictures from yesteryears.

Gosh dang?!

i didn't expect life to go by so quickly...

But it has.

It feels like yesterday that I was watching Avin take his last steps off the football field as a High School student..

But that...

That was two years ago.

Lord knows I've done my damndest to slow down, be in the moment, and process as much as I can. But Father Time has no care for how quickly he takes the seconds.

He's like the villain in the horror flick. He never walks faster, or runs. He's just always on your ass. No matter the sweat in the hustle to out run him, as soon as you catch your breath and look back, there he is, just'a coming without care... and he's gonna get you.

As I recall the sunsetting on Avin's football life, the sun rises upon another... it's a dawn of a new era.

Even stranger, it's the same. exact. field.

Crazy to me that a non football player such as myself could have been fortunate to have two boys, both of which got bit by this bug. I played a little pop warner in 8th grade, but had to call it quits early due to already growing knee problems. I dabbled a little in my sophomore year for a few weeks, but quit simply cause I really didn't like it. I would rather have been drawing or building stuff... (weird..)

Today's football life is nothing short of a full time commitment for the kids, and a part time job for the parents. Honestly, it feels like you need a part time job just to afford the financial demands the sport requires in order to participate effectively.

The time commitment starts in the Spring the year beforehand. The skills players all play 7 on 7, the linemen do "big man" competitions. They call this Spring ball.

Then summer takes place. Weekly morning workouts start at 6am and carry on until 830am. Conditioning, conditioning. Unlike our past, we kids were close to the school. So that meant we would get our own asses up and carry our own asses to school. Today however?!... the school systems are crumbling, charter schools are popping up everywhere. Which means no on walks to school. Kids in your neighborhood have a 50/50 chance of even going to the same schools you do. Therefore, kids live at least a 10-20 minute drive to and from school. No one is walking to school anymore.

After football camp happens, there's about a third left of one's summer. Thankfully they all get Fridays off. But as soon as school starts, you have zero hour before class, school gets out, then you gotta be back on site by 5ish (depending on temperatures outside) then you'll grind out practice until about 8-830 - hoping for no team talking to's from the coaches.

The next day, you do this again all through before the season begins.

When the season does start, Mon-Thurs, practice - games on Fridays, oftentimes, film on Saturdays. Being in a charter school, you gotta play schools your size. Being a medium sized school, we're known to travel from Phx to Laughlin, NV, Yuma, maybe Tucson, or even Show Low, or Holbrook, or just add 3-4hrs of a drive in any direction from Phx and you get the point. :)

So begins our last Freshman and only high schooler left.

Like his brother before, he's all about the grind.

Far cooler looking than my pop warner years. lol! my 8th grade pic!

My dad said "why would you wear your watch for pictures?!" HAHA

With all the pickup and drop offs there's no shortage of the system forcing a parent's hand, to grow up and "let go". You never want anything to happen, and you want to be there to make sure nothing does happen. Getting a phone call while your kids are out and about makes your heart rate spike. When Avin played, we had a few calls from the team trainer that interrupted the evening about an unexpected injury... I suppose it was only a matter of time really.

"Mom, I heard a pop!"

Sure'nuff... it was a pop.

Hard to see, but it's there. A buckle fracture. Nurses were hella cool there. They printed off a picture of the break so we could hang it on the fridge like proud parents. For this household, thankfully no one's broken a bone before. But leave it to Tristan to lead the way.

Should be of no surprise. Tristan chose bright pink with blue unicorn glitter.

For much of the season and at practices Tristan could be spotted from the sidelines quite easily.

As the arm would heal under the cast, they would allow him to tape the shit out of it and play.

Tristan couldn't play the offensive line like he had been training for. So to keep things safe, they allowed him to play kickoff return. No one said you couldn't just ram into people. :) So for his spirit of participation, that was nice to see.

After wearing the cast for about 5ish weeks he was able to get it taken off. To his surprise however, it hurt. Hurt like spraining your ankle he said. The team trainer would wrap it tight and he'd do flexing and stretching... but not ready for contact.

That brings us to this past Thursday.. in Show Low.

Avin's last football game as a Highschool Senior.

Tristan's first game, un-injured as a Highschool Freshman.

This time I had Chas as my side to watch. The temperature was a wonderful high 60's kinda game. Far better than the 20 degrees Avin played in. Sitting in the same spot, facing West into the sunset, just like last time.

Damn man.

Was hella bitter sweet.

The part that was most moving to me was something I thought would NEVER happen. Shit, I knew it wouldn't simply due to age. Avin is 5.5 years older than T. That means that both boys get their own highschool experience separate from each other. Which is the case...

However...

Avin never left football.

He only leaned into it, finding his true calling after highschool.. EDITSBYAVINBRILL. So there in front of us both boys sharing the sidelines together.

Shit man! It was very cool!

You'd think that a 3.5hr trip, accompanied by a broken side window in the Tahoe, along with an overnight hotel stay, would be ingredients enough to secure a win.. but no, not even a score. Panthers would lose 0-14... having been at 0-0 until the END of the third quarter... still beats the drive home from Yuma for Avin where they lost 0-77?!!!... that was a LONG drive home!

Nonetheless, it was a chock-full weekend of kids, sports, and life memories.

Thursday morning: Homecoming Parade