September 2010 Calendar Page

September 2010

Ryan's Last Tackle Football Game

And, finally, we are at Ryan's last tackle football game.  The season went by so fast, and before we knew it they were playing in their final game.  The boys practiced and played hard.  They had a lot of fun, and learned a lot.  All the new players seemed to get over their tackle "shyness" by the end of the season.  It was really neat to see each player grow during the season - and the team got better and better with each game.

They did have their difficulties though.  I think we lost four players during the season.  I lost count after a bit.  And, we also lost a coach.  That was a pretty strange situation.  He happened to quit coaching during the one week that Coach Alex (whom I considered to be head coach - and all the boys liked him a lot) was out of town.  He was going to miss one game.  And the other coach quit during that week and informed the parents that we would have to find a parent to step in as head coach or the game would be forfeited.  A couple of the dads volunteered.  And then when we showed up for the game, there was Coach Alex.  He came home early from his business trip to be there for the team.  You could tell that really meant a lot to the boys.

And so, here are a few pictures of the final Voltron game.

Breaking the huddle for the play

Ryan holding onto his defensive player

Both teams taking a knee for an injured player.  He got up and
left the field on his own.

Ryan listening to his coach during halftime

And now, for a new kick returner

Another Saturday . . . another game.  In this game, the coaches decided to put Ryan in as a kick returner (is that a word?).  Each time there was a kick, Ryan and one other player were the two designated to return that ball.  On the first kick off, Ryan got the ball, and off he went.

Ryan waiting for the kick off.

Ryan on his first kick return.

Talking over the plays on a timeout.

The Huddle

Halftime

Ready for the play.  Ryan is the second from the right.

More Football - and more to come!

This was one of the hardest football games that our boys had to play.  It was a pretty interesting season for them.  The team that the Voltrons were up against originally were playing in a different league.  A league that has more experience.  And they also had bigger players.  The rumor was that all but two of the other players were over the weight limit.  I'm not sure if that is true, but those boys did look much, much bigger than ours. 

Ryan's team was mostly new tackle players.  There were about 3 or 4 players that had played tackle before.  And other than that, everyone else was new.  It was rough to watch them play against more experienced teams and this particular game was very hard with the size difference.  Our boys were being thrown down all over the play. 

The Voltron team hung in there and really did their best.  They never game up against this bigger, tougher team.  It was great to watch.  The parents cheered even harder for the team at this game than any other so far.  There was one play in particular that I remember.  One of the players on the other team would pick out a player on our team and no matter what was going on with the ball, he zeroed in on that player and tackled him as hard as he could.  Somehow Ryan got on his radar.  It was a kick off and this other guy was headed straight for Ryan.  Ryan saw him coming and faked him out several times.  As soon as that player committed going to the left to tackle Ryan, Ryan put on some speed and shifted the other direction.  Before that player knew what happened Ryan was halfway down the field.  It was pretty funny to watch.  He never did get a hand on Ryan and finally decided to go after some of the other players.

Ryan and Coach Alex on the sidelines.

Ryan waiting for the snap.  He's the one on the left (with the
red face mask).

Ryan holding onto number 93.

At halftime, the coaches sat the boys down and gave them the
option to forfeit or to finish out the game, due to the size and
the fact that this team really belonged in the more experienced
league.  Our boys didn't hesitate at all and said that they
wanted to finish the game.  So proud of them.

Halftime Choice

Ryan's First Tackle Football Game

Two weeks ago, Ryan had his first tackle football game.  It was very fun watching him finally get to play in a tackle game.  He's been begging me to play tackle football for over a year now.  And, actually playing flag last year was my idea.  I wanted to see how he liked it before we made the commitment to tackle.  It's definitely more involved than flag - and so far he is really enjoying playing.  Even with the scrapes and bruises.  They did not win their first game, but I think they really had a good time being out there.  And I really liked how the coaches were with the boys during game.  No yelling and telling them what they did wrong.  They really emphasized having fun.  You could definitely tell a difference in play from the beginning of the game and the end - the nerves were going away and they were remembering things from practice.

Before the game, they coaches had the boys out practicing
some plays.

In the huddle setting up the next play.  Ryan is number 6 and is
the only player on the team with a red face mask.  Makes him
a little easier to spot at times.

On the sideline watching the plays.

Getting ready for the kick off.  Ryan is the one with his arm up.

Ryan playing Left Tackle.  You can't see it, but he's holding the
defensive man, keeping him from getting to the quarterback.
(He's the one with the purple socks and is leaning forward.)

April Calendar Page

2011 April Calendar Pages

His Long Wait is Finally Over

Ryan

Finally, after a year of asking for it, Ryan is playing tackle football.  He had his fourth practice last night and seems to really be enjoying it.  It's tough work - and lots to learn - like the right way to tackle and guard.  He is not the smallest player on his team - and definitely not the largest either.  It's fun watching the practices.  And he really is listening to the coaches when they pull him aside with some pointers.  He just needs to find his inner aggressive Ryan!

This picture was taken the day we got all his equipment.  It took me a couple days to get used to seeing a football helmet and shoulder pads laying around the house.  We got home and he couldn't wait to put everything on all at once.  Oh, and he even cut his hair - pics to come of that later on.  We would push his hair back to put on his helmet (those things are a very tight fit) and next thing you know he's running around in practice with a bunch of hair sticking out of the front of his helmet.  The only downside to no more long hair - it's not as easy to pick him out of the crowd at practice.

First NFL Game

All three of us got to experience our first NFL game together.  One of my brothers asked if anyone was interested in going to see the Arizona Cardinals play the Washington Redskins in a preseason game.  Since I grew up in the Washington area and have been a Skins fans since the good old days of Joe Theisman, John Riggins, Darryl Green and Art Monk I thought that sounded like a really fun idea.  And when I heard the great deal on the tickets I was even more excited.  And so was Ryan.  He just recently got into watching and playing football.

Since it was on a school night, we left as soon as Ryan was done with all of his homework.  Well, most of it anyway.  He had one assignment that he would finish up the next morning (and he did with no complaining at all).  We piled in the car with my iPod freshly loaded up with some new songs - Lady GaGa and Train - and off we went. 

Traffic was pretty crazy.  I think at one point we sat for 20 minutes and moved less than a mile.  It reminded me of mornings driving from Virginia to Maryland to work in the summers.  Boy was I glad that I worked at the same office as my brother and he drove us . . . because those long commutes gave me an extra bit of sleep in before I had to try to pretend to be happy to be up for the day.  We had planned on going to eat at a mall next door to the stadium, but did not make it in time to eat first.  We decided to get inside and find our seats knowing that there would be food and drinks inside.  Ryan and I split the most expensive personal pizza ever.  It was just the right size for us though.  We both got two pieces and were full.

The Skins lost the game.  We had a great time.  I was surprised at how many Skins fans were there.  I was afraid that we were going to be the major minority cheering for the Skins, but we were not.  So, that was nice.  There was even a me sized player on the Skins.  One of their receivers was a good head shorter than the other players on the field.  We looked him up in the program - he was a mighty 5' 7".  So, at our end of the row, we cheered for him whenever he was on the field.

It was a sold out game.  The stadium was totally packed.

Doug, Ryan & I. 

Warren, the one looking at the camera, had the great idea to go to the game and organized it.  There were two of my brothers there with parts of their families and a nephew with three of his boys, and then the three of us.

Ryan and I enjoying the game.

I had to save the best for last.  I took this with my cell phone camera.  No special effects whatsoever.  I loved the way this came out.  I'm featuring it on my photo website also.  MelzDezines.

Football Game #7 - The Final Game of the Spring Season

I would like to say the season ended before it got too hot.  But it was already getting plenty hot sitting out there.  I loved watching the games.  They were tons of fun & really not tons of pressure on the kids.  It would have been nice to have had a few more wins.  But, it got Ryan out running around and learning a little bit more about football.

Waiting for the ball to be snapped

Heading over to get those flags

Reaching for the flags

After the game, the entire team went to Peter Piper Pizza for some pizza, playtime and to get their trophies.

After enjoying our pizza and waiting for the trophies to be handed out.  My parents and Kelly came to the game and the pizza party with us.

The team ready to get their trophies.  Ryan is somewhere in that mix.

Ryan with the coaches of the Vikings.

Goofy shot!
One of my favorites to take.  I love to see what people do on the spur of the moment.

Football Game #6

I didn't get many pictures of this game.  Or at least, not many good ones to share.  So, here is the one and only picture from Football Game #6.

Heading out to the field

Football Game #5

Here we are nearing the end of the the football season.  This game was actually played in May.  I can't imagine playing (and watching) football in this heat!  that would be a bit much!  They do have summer leagues.

Ryan running for the flags

Football Game #3 & 4

Today was the double header. The team played a game, had an hour break and then played another game. I didn't take that many pictures today. I think I was more into cheering this day.

Ryan getting ready to play defense. It seemed like the majority of the time he was on offense he was facing away from me, so I could only get pictures from behind.

It might be a little hard to see, but, if you look behind him, he his holding the other kids flags. It was fun to watch how much more confident he got as the season went on.

Must be an offensive play - he has his back to me!

Football Game #3

Slowly but surely I am getting caught up. This is the third game of the season. I wish I could tell you scores, but honestly, I had a hard time keeping track of them while the game was going on. We got too involved with cheering the team on. And of course, I had the camera to my eye most of the time looking for the shot rather than paying attention to who even had possession of the ball.

Ryan was picked to be one of the team captains for the coin toss. The tall blond boy goes to Ryan's school and they had been looking forward to playing each other.

In the huddle getting the pep talk for the next play:

Ryan going for the flags:

Football Game #2

It was the second game of the season. We had a lot of new players on our team, including Ryan. Never having played on a league before. They had played in one game and knew what to expect now. They were a little more excited going into the second game. And, the other team never showed up. We aren't sure what happened, we just know that they were not there. So, they split the team in two and let them play against each other. The team had a lot of fun. I'm not sure what the score was, but the good news is - the Vikings won!

On the sideline waiting for the game to begin (before we got the official word that the other team was not there):

The Vikings coaches:
Get those flags:

In the huddle:

Playing defense: