Jayse was not sure if he wanted to play football again this year. He’s been playing for 6 years and he just wasn’t sure he wanted to continue it. Greg and I had decided we wanted the kids to be involved in at least 1 thing during the school year. We left it open, it could be sports or a club but we wanted something that would get them out of the house and teach them team work and commitment.

Jaelee had decided to do track again as her one thing and Jayse was undecided until the last minute. Football practice started 2 weeks before school so he needed to make a decision. We sat down to talk about it and I told him to make a pro and con list. Before he even finished the list he decided to play.

Practice started 2 weeks before school. Right away from practices I could tell he was really enjoying it. I think because he had so much experience and was playing with a lot of kids that this was their first year playing it really boosted his confidence. He was excited to be playing first team in a lot of positions and even got to play one of his favorite positions on defense.

The Friday before his first game and even before school started the team got together for a kick off BBQ. The parents provided all the food. We couldn’t attend – I had a Dr.’s appt. After they ate they all walked to the high school for their first home game. They all attended the game together wearing their school jersey. Jayse had a blast! He didn’t get home until 10:30 that night and looked like he really had fun.

His first game was at home. He played really well but you could tell they still needed some work as a team. They lost and didn’t score any points. Jayse played almost the whole game. He played offense (Right Guard), defense (D End) and kick off return. Just watching him this game seemed different, he seemed more confident, he was patting players on the back and encouraging them. He seemed to really be having a great time.

I really like watching him play and glad he decided to continue playing this year.

He is # 55

He really loves playing defense and rushing the QB, he gets close so may times to stopping him but has yet to make tackle or block.