Joy & Rain

I wish I would have had my camera at yesterday's practice - our second-to-last with the freshmen this year.

I think every player and every coach should get at least one day like it: steady rain, puddles and mud to paint white towels, pants and socks in a new shade of gray.

My receivers were so excited to jump in puddles and get dirty that it made me laugh. How can you not appreciate the sentiments - and have a little fun? So, the deal was this: if you dropped the football or caught the ball with your shoulderpads, it was pushups / updowns / situps and if you wanted to do them in the puddle ....

Of course this meant that almost all of them did take a bath in the mud - which I'm sure their moms & dads LOVED on the way home. The good news was that their practice clothes got washed for today (not a cloud in the sky) and the showers in the lockerroom were used probably for the first time in at least ten years. The other thing I can say is that we did the pursuit drill at the end of practice, so most of them would've been filthy anyway.

I think my favorite part was that most of them were truly happy. Some got to experience success, and others just laughed so hard it hurt. We're teaching them lots of things, football probably the least of them, but a true asset in life is remembering how to find your joy when it's raining outside.

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