Connections Matter
Looking at a post from RBVHS Football on Instagram the other day, I'm looking at faces that Jake has known or played ball with since we moved the sports to Vista from Carlsbad. Some kids he's played with in baseball at RBV/Vista Little League (VLL). Some he played football with at Madison (Middle School). The one face I can't help but see belongs to QB1. We played against him in VLL and played with him during All-Stars for a couple summers. When I was coaching or managing, knowing the kid was a hell of a quarterback already, I called him QB1 a lot on the baseball field. It didn't matter that he was our SS or CF or starting pitcher. Some great memories come back to me when I used to bring a football to baseball practice so that the pitchers would throw with it. Well, that also meant some impromptu football games broke out in the outfield. QB1 throwing the ball mostly. Jake and another teammate (Lucky) matching up man to man; let the fun begin.
The other day at football, the team is playing 7-on-7 and there is a sort of ground ball snap from the Center to QB1. He, of course, takes it like a ground ball (just like the hundreds I've hit him) and flicks a dime down the field. I'm not coaching, but I'm on the sideline...actually in the stands. I have an "outside voice", one that, if you've played for me, is fairly recognizable. "'Atta boy Shortstop. Way to pick it," I bellow in my matter-of-fact tone. QB1 doesn't even look over at me. He simply gives me a no-look thumbs up. It was sort of a fun little moment for the old coach.
I realize, as I'm watching practices with QB1’s Dad, Coach Niels (whom I coached against and with at VLL), and other dads, that these boys have come a long way...a VERY long way, and are embarking on a new journey together. Seeing the boys get a little extra throwing in over at Lake Park a day into the Dead Period, you can see the core of the team has already formed. One that has played together, in one form or another, for years. Not only have they played together, they've had success together. They have that memory to lean on as they prepare to play football together. They have played together in big situations, in front of large, raucous crowds. They have played for championships and won; sometimes beating each other. They have taken their game on the road, outside the comfy confines of Optimist Field, Vista Athletic Complex, or the local middle school, and won. Come the third week in August, they will play on what promises to be a hot Thursday afternoon in front of dozens of friends and family in what will feel like a huge game, but will not be publicized. There will be no scouts from USC or San Diego State in attendance. There will only be them, playing for each other, as united as they can be, playing a sport that demands nothing less.
I am proud of what they are doing and can't wait to be one of the dozens. #SkoHorns
