Go Jackrabbits! (My first football experience)

I went to my first Mesa High football game last night! It was way fun! I never went to a single Mauldin High football game unless it was to sing the National Anthem with the choir. It was just a totally awesome experience though, going as a teacher, because I had students that were playing and that made all the difference.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I do not know ANYTHING about football, so I had a friend that is very good at football accompany me and explain what was going on in the game. I now know that a quarterback gets the ball from the center and he can either throw the ball to a receiver OR keep it and run, among other things. Basically, I’m ready to coach football. Ok, maybe not, but it’s definitely a start!

I went to the Juniors game, which is kind of like JV, except that the guys are still on Varsity, but since the school is so big, they have a second string game, if that makes any sense at all. Since I teach all juniors, most of my students that play football are on the second string team. One of my students is even the quarterback! Exciting! So, every time they would say his name I got so excited and cheered for him.

Today at school, I told them that I went to the game and I wish you all could have seen how their eyes lit up when I told them. They were so excited. I told Mr. Quarterback that I went and he said, “REALLY?!?!? Thank you so much for coming!” (Fist bump…that’s right, I’m cool enough to be asked for a fist bump!!!!) He then continued to ask me if I saw all of these plays and everything, which I could tell him that I did! Another student said, “Did you see me block that punt return??” To which I could also respond yes!!!

Today was one of the most rewarding/fun experiences of my student teaching. When the students found out I cared and went to the game, the way they treated me after made me feel like I was the best teacher in the entire world, and I hadn’t even really done anything! I just took an hour and a half of my time, which is next to nothing if you think about it, and learned a little about football so that I could have a new way to connect with my students. It was such an amazing feeling!! AHHH I LOVE BEING A TEACHER!!!!

Carry on!