There you stand, hand over heart, singing along with our national anthem. The sound of the band and the roar of the crowd send goosebumps even in the summer heat. As you look across the field, you come face to face with your opponent. As you march on to the field, adrenaline pumps through your veins. The noises fade, the smells vanish, nothing remains but the enemy and your team. The ball is kicked high into the air, and the march towards victory is underway.

A large grassy field precisely marked with lines of white paint. In the center of it all lies a large white horseshoe outlined in red, a sort of family crest you could say. bleachers surrounding the field lay dormant, eager to hold the eruption of fans and cheers that flood the stadium on Friday nights. The wind blows through the trees, drifting down and across the field. It carries with it the voices and cheers of those who played before us, setting the tone for the game that looms in the distance.

The crowd fades as you make your way onto the field. The bright lights shine down, illuminating your every move. It's just you and ten of your brothers, fighting to defeat a common enemy. Through pain, anger, happiness, and heartbreak, you slowly begin to take the lead. The clock hits zero, and you are victorious. You make your way over to the fence, and begin to chant the glorious school fight song. Pride and dedication are implemented way before the first game of the season. These symbolic burdens are shouldered early in the summer. Dedication is waking up every morning and driving to the weight room. It’s sweating and grinding through a relentless workout. Dedication is taking pride in your work, truly believing that work ethic is a reflection of character. Dedication is that fire inside you. It’s hungry; always burning and always needing to be fueled. That fire is continuously fueled as you commit to yourself and your team. That dedication, that pride that beats in your chest on Friday nights starts long before the snap of the ball. This dedication can be fueled greatly by those you choose to surround yourself with, especially your coach. 

Coach is a man that can stand out in a crowd. His red team hat is always paired with a small black whistle hung around his neck. Even if you don’t see him, his stern, yet gentle voice can be heard barking corrections and encouragement all across the field. These words and orders that spill from his shouts are more than motivating, they have the power to take over your mindset and push you to the limit. So when coach brings you in right before the game, his words of wisdom take you back to those early mornings, the late nights, and the long days that my brothers and I spent fighting through it all as one. That pride and dedication I carry will never fade, and neither will I.