La Salle Football: More than a Team

[Picture of Football Team at the ALS Walk summer 2016]

“Joe, tell us about the giants”

“Legend has it that over those hills live a race of giants who are bigger, stronger, and tougher than anyone around. But I know this legend isn’t true. You know why the legend isn’t true?”

“Why Joe, tell us why”

“‘Cause the giants are right here on this bus”

Two weeks after finals, football practices began. The tension and excitement over the season had been building up since December 5, 2015, the day of last year’s championship game. After months spent preparing, the season was finally about to begin.

After about a week of practice at LaSalle, we shipped off to Hillsdale Massachusetts for camp. From the dreaded morning wake-up to the last meeting, our days were all about football. Between 6 am practices, 10 am meetings, noon lunches, 4pm practices, 7 pm meetings, we had little time to ourselves. We finally passed the required few days of practice not in full pads. Now we could hit. We had been preparing mentally for the season for 9 months, now it was time to work physically.

After our first few weeks of practice, it was finally time to compete. After just returning to Rhode Island from camp, our first scrimmage was to be held back in Massachusetts at King Philip Regional High School. We went into the day nervous, but we came out victorious. We were bound to have a great year. The games continued. After a nail-biter win at Springfield Central, our confidence was up. We steamrolled almost our entire remaining schedule except for a loss against Dartmouth and Hendricken.

Playoff bound we were, but we were beaten and bruised. What started with a roster of over 80 kids was down to 60, and amongst these sixty were a dozen injuries. The season became a grind. Every practice was the same as the last and the next. Being the longest high school sports season, football practice became tedious and tiresome. Yet through it all we persevered.

While the big game on December 3rd did not go our way, we look back and know it was worth it all along. A championship does not define success. Success is defined by the relationships built and the effort put in. We might not have a ring on our finger, but we won in a million other ways.