I went to Mountain Crest High School, home of the Mustangs in Hyrum, Utah. I was the waterboy for football, basketball and baseball team. Today as I opened my closet to grab something out of it, I saw a strong reminder of how much I was blessed being associated with the football squad for 4 years as an equipment manager. There are 2 experiences that I want to share, and to be thinking of them right now is REALLY giving me goosebumps. I'll make this part 1 and make part 2 another time.
After my sophomore year in 2001 of helping the football team, I was then asked to help out basketball midway through their season, and did so til the end of their season, afterwhich I ran right into spring and helped the baseball team as well. So I was pretty tired to say the least heading into summer and starting over again with Football. But after the success in my sophomore year with the football squad, which was amazing because we won the 4A State title, I I was asked to be the waterboy for the 4A All-Star football team in the summer of 2002, and our next varsity squad was preseason picked to be number one in the state. It was exciting and yet very draining on me emotionally and physically. I remember half way through my junior football season asking myself, "Can I go on with this? Do I have the energy to make it through the rest of this season? " I was making some dumb mistakes while helping out the team and a couple times kind of went through the motions. My coach later told me that it could've been because I wore myself out, but also because I thought I was better than I really was. He was right on both accounts actually. I started to do things the way I wanted to, instead of the way they should be done--which is the correct way. Therefore, I caused a little frustration for coach and even on myself. But after one game in particular, I went home that night and sat on my bed, almost ready to break out in tears. Then I looked up at the ring that I was given from our Championship team, I looked at the lettermans certificate from the previous year from all 3 sports I received, and I said to myself something like, "I'm better than what I'm giving, and right now I'm not giving my all. This needs to change. I love being a part of this game and team and lately I've been treating it like a job. That's not what this is, and this is not who I am." I commited to myself I'd finish the rest of the season with effort, hard work, and satisfaction at the end of the day, whether it was practice, or a game.
From that day forward I did just as I promised myself. At the end of the season, I reflected on my work and though their were some bumps and bruises, I knew I gave my all. I'm darn grateful for a coach who was patient in helping and teaching me of how to become a better manager and a better person. We lost to Timpview by 7 in the 2nd round of the playoffs. After the season was over, the team had a meeting with coach, afterwhich the Seniors would meet with coach. I was in the team room when the Seniors sat their, coach came in and asked me to go and grab something in his office and then find out some information. I was bummed I wasn't going to hear their meeting. I did as told though. The football banquet was held 1 month later, which was a big time gap from the end of the season til that point. But coach planned on going to the state championship. And since we didn't make it that far, he didn't change the time. At the Banquet coaches talked, players were honored. All State football players were, Nick Eliason, Ryan Zimmerman, and Carl Blad. Ryan was and still is one of my closest friends. We've been close since 6th grade and it was because of him I became a more confident person as I grew up. Nick and I had a good friendship as well. I never got to knew Carl that well, but he was quiet, didn't say much, he went out and played hard and that was all the talking he needed to do. These 3 were seniors that year. The talent we were losing was going to put a big hole in our team for my Senior year. But it wasn't that stat that I was so bummed about. It was the teammates I was losing due to their graduation. Their were 17 of them. Some of them, I was closer to than others. But they made me feel important in a position where I didn't have to feel that, because I had no impact on whether we were going to win that game or not. After awards were given out to players, seniors acknowledged, and coaches got to speak, Coach Art Erickson then asked me to come up. I stood to a great applause from the crowd, I even waved to them. I stood in front of the 17 seniors all of them with big smiles on their faces. Coach said a few words about me, he reached down to grab a bag at which point Ryan and Nick covered my eyes. I didn't know what was going on. When they uncovered my eyes, there on the podium laid my lettermans jacket, a gift from the seniors. When I was asked to complete those tasks for the coach that day while the senior meeting was going on, that was why. They were planning what they were going to do for me, and they letterman jacket is the idea they came up with. I did all I could to control my emotion and I hugged a few of the guys, shook the seniors hands, and acknowledged the crowd one more time. As I was walking back, I saw my freshmen football coach, who I started this managing gig with. He was the first to give me a shot, I was congratulated by other teammates, coaches, and parents. Finally I got back to my seat, immediately I grabbed my napkin cloth and buried into my face as I sobbed uncontrolably. 17 friends of mine, who were the popular kids in high school, the ones that everybody went to watch on Friday night, the ones who had an impact on every game--one night they took a back seat, and gave their appreciation to a guy who was just doing his job the way he was asked to. Just trying to help the team, though it was in the smallest of ways. I'll never forget that night, that moment of seeing those seniors grins before I'd even made it to the podium, that gift from them that I still to this day, have and very much cherish. I'll never forget seeing my dads face. He was smiling, and having him and mom their really meant a lot to me. As I wrote this blog, I sat here crying again, still trying to dry my eyes and once again, control my emotion. That night has a very big place in my heart and thinking back to that moment, I never felt so appreciated by a group of guys like I was that evening. Oh, and you ask what patch they put on the jacket since I do 3 different sports right..they solved all 3 with one patch--it was a waterbottle.
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