Jake's first season playing high school football, full contact football for that matter, has been a crazy ride...for me.

Him wearing Boots' #36 on his back in his first high school game meant a lot to me. WAY more than I thought it would...or should. That feels like it happened 6 months ago, even though it was only 45 days or so. Those first few games against top 10 programs in the CIF-SD where our boys were outmanned was great to watch. Seeing the courage and confidence rise like the tide inside him, even though ass kickings is what he and his team were getting. Having our first trip to the hospital to clear him through concussion protocol was not fun, but it was also empowering in a way.

As my son starts his high school sports journey, I’m looking at faces we’ve seen and played with for years. Kids that have competed together and against each other, won on the biggest stages, and learned to rely on one another. This is the next chapter…

I am going to push when I'm supposed to pull. I'm going to rage when I'm supposed to stay calm. There are a million things that I could do wrong here, and THAT is why I'm documenting this. Maybe I will catch myself doing it and we can course correct? I plan for mistakes, because I know they will be made. I know that when I make them; they are at full speed and stuff gets ugly. But I have tried hard...really hard, to treat mistakes as opportunities for growth. So, here I go.