The Next Step

           Imagine climbing Mount. Everest and upon descending from such a great high you realize you might have just reached the penicle of all your goals. No matter how hard you try you can not think of another feat greater than what you have just accomplished. It becomes apparent that whatever is next should be better than what you have done or it would just be a waste of time. Competitors like myself often reached crossroads such a this one. Personally, I put playing football on such a high pedistal that once I got here and accomplished my first season I am now left with more hunger for the game than before I got here. I feel as if my mission or rather my journey has not reached its final destination. I wonder if I really challenged myself to being all that I could be or just settled because it seemed like an easy way to make it on a collegiate level.

A Brick Wall

          As we go through our residency here on planet Earth, life gives us many situations where adversity becomes more than a state of mind. Adversity becomes as difficult as trying to walk through a brick wall. How do we as human beings, not really strong enough to plow through the wall, overcome such a task. Some fold under the pressure of not being able to push forward while other keep trying and trying the exterior of the wall looking for weak spots. In search of these weak spots after relentless repetitive beating we become stronger from trial and error. Through this new found strength we seem to gain the courage the over power the wall and keep going until life throws us another kink. In football it seems as everyday we most take on a newer, more stronger wall. In the end we have two decisions: either man up and take the situation as is and try to conquer the wall or fold and turn and run from the wall. In conquering the wall, we keep attending practice even though not making playoffs is inevitable, keeping a level head as a coach relentlessly rips us a new one, or giving your all each snap of every play even though it seems as if the team just cannot get things going late in a game. It is the character of a man that is brought forth when his true colors are shown. Most people with an ounce of dignity can muster the courage to keep going but most "yellow bellies" run from the challenge. This has never been a trait of my nature. I have been and always will be a competitor no matter what I am involved in. It is just victory tastes too sweet to be okay with mediocredy or settle for only being good. I strive to be great, so nothing show hold me back. Brick walls are strong, dense, and sturdy, but what happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force. Determination is always the catalyst that proves the victor over the loser. Willingness to leave all fears behind and take on the wall with reckless abandonment is a trait I have been bred to portray since my youth. Why not continue what I have started?

An Unsettling Defeat.

October 15th, of the year 2011; a date I have been counting down since my signing day way back in May. In May, I was still one of the few still being recruited and it was a three-way split decsion between the University of Mary Hardin Baylor, Texas Lutheran University, and the McMurry WarHawks. Letting things unfold and making the best of whatever oppurtunity comes up is usually how I handle most tough decisions. When signing day finally arrived I went through all of my paperwork and realized that Texas Lutheran offered me the best oppurtunity to be on the field and helped the most financially. A friend of mine however took interest in McMurry and from that day it was established that on October 15th, we would no longer be brothers. Instead we become rivals that will lay everything on the line for our respective teams. It was a bright October morning that smelled much like football out here in Seguin. The team and I felt that we prepared all that we could even though many of us shared similar doubts of the scheme our defensive coordinator decided we were gonna run. Match up wise, we thought we reviewed and practiced every possibility they could throw at us. We were ready. 1 o'clock came and it was now time to go out and leave it all on the field. Naturally, even though I prayed and wished that we wouldn't, we started out pretty slow and McMurry got out to a pretty good lead. A call here and a couple blown coverages later it seemed as if the Bulldogs were laying down. This was false. The fight in our spirits always pulls through for us. We showed them that we could drive the length of the field and score. Halftime was a bit sketchy. I was oblivious to those ready to lay down, and encouraged those who were still fighting in the trenches. We came out fired up, but deflated as the game progressed. It became a little shameful to be on the brink of losing at home especially in such a manner. More importantly it struck me that I did not sign up for a losing season. I take the blame for the loss because I should have created more big plays when no one could answer the aerial strike the opposing quaterback was completing. I just know that I still have a love for the game, but I never had a passion for losing. It must not happen again.

Bye week equals Fly week

7 long, hot, tough weeks. Every day brings a new lesson learned from the previous day's mistake. Faces and places become more familiar by the hour bringing everyone into a culture-shock state. The realization that "hey guys, we are in COLLEGE! We made it." Gatorade seems like water to most that has the capabilty to drink it whenever, but to a mentally and physically exhausted football player it is as sacred as ambrosia was to the gods. We cherish every drip of the tiny plastic cups we receive. Our luxurious cup does not get to be enjoyed long, because in ten minutes our short moment of tranquility is brought to an ubrupt halt. Back to the field goes the bulldogs go painfully enjoying the contact and bonding with their brothers. When the wheels on the bus of the bulldogs' path to success took a stop in the westernly community of Alpine, Tx. the 'Dogs came to play and laid everything on the field. This in turn paid off, so the 'Dogs packed up and headed back to Seguin. It seemed as a direct result of the Bulldogs being victorious, the sun held back its rays of pure heat and all the planets aligned to grant the Bulldogs a bye week. As the first day of the bye week drew to an end, it seemed as if as soon as I woke up I was laying back down to go to sleep. Day 2 proved to be no different from the first which made me ponder the realism of how things were playing out. As the weekend came I finally started feeling as if I finally had a break. The weekend off was as foreign to me as german politics, which I know little to nothing about by the way. I managed to catch up on some of my studies and attempted to get ahead of the class by reading extra text, but that ended up face down nose deep into my textbook. By Sunday, I proclaimed myself the "King of the Procrastinators" for putting everything off until the last few hours of the day and before I knew it, it was Monday. Sadly, sarcastically speaking of course, the break was over and I plunged back into reality. Football came unmerciless with tackling drills, but hey "you gotta love it." Well. Over and out.

1-0

Well this past Saturday we had our first football game against Ausin College. It was a common meeting between AC and TLU so there was a little tension in the air. We were protecting our home field even though last year AC came out the victors when the time expired. This year TLU football is a new program and everyone is starting to take notice. We beat AC in an 31-28 feat. This was the first time in 4 years that TLU has won its season opener. I am an incoming freshman so upon hearing that I was more determined than ever to give it my all on the field to change the way this program is looked at. I come from an enviroment where football is a big part of the school's community so adjusting to campus-life at TLU was a little hard because the football players are not the role models at the school. With this past win though, hopefully we have set the tone for a winning season. If we set the tone this year, hopefully we spark a winning tradition and by my senior year here at TLU our program will become championship ready. Also in our recent victory I made my first college football debut as a true freshman. I started at our linebacker position as a true freshman which is an uncommon feat in college football. My coach literally "tossed me in the ocean" with a bunch of big fish, but luckily I like to consider myself a big fish as well; it felt great to be back on the field under the bright lights again so I held my own and did pretty good. I had some big plays and my team came through when they were needed. I am pretty excited to play our next game against our somewhat rivals, Trinity University. Last year TLU gave them a beating so I'm hoping for a field-day when gameday arrives. Anticipation is almost the only difference between highschool and college. Highschool was more of a fun, almost chaotic atmosphere Since TLU is a D3 program, the game is a bit more serious because you have to really "love the game", because football doesn't pay for any of our tuition yet we make the sacrifice both mentally and physically to play. Well. Over and out.

College: A True Life Story

6 a.m. Wake up, Pre-calc, breakfast, Computer Science, workout session, lunch, Music Appreciation, rehab for my shoulder, special teams meeting, defensive film, practice, shower, quick dinner, study hall, homework, study hour, and finally around midnight my head rests comfortably upon my pillow. This is my monotonous day to day series of events. The monotony is also accompanied by fatigue in the classroom and strenuous activity. I would not like to come off as boastful by saying it is not easy to walk a mile in my shoes, but the ability to handle such a load comes with the title "student-athlete." The main difference between a student-athlete in highschool and a collegiate student-athlete is that the responsibilty on getting things done is at a higher price. Also, prioritizing plays a major role in the life of a college student-athlete. You must figure which priorities are most important and which ones henders your application to being successful. Your priorities should be organized in a fashion that stresses the "student" in "student-athlete" by figuring out a schedule that incorporates your workload that makes it easier to handle. Unfortunately, when you figure out the perfect agenda you remember that your have obligations to your team. These obligations include attending morning meetings when you could be grabbing a quick bit to eat for breakfast in between a classes, working out during the only hour you have free for luch to get the team better by bettering yourself, and more importantly devoting almost four hours a day to go over and excecute the things to defeat the opposing team of that week. The resulting schedule you get when you are done prioritizing may seem impossible, but it is your duty to be as close to perfect as possible when trying to get through the day. As a Division III athlete you get no financial backing through football, so the majority of the scholarships we recieve come through academic funds which reflect directly from our GPA. At times it gets tough and many fold under the pressure just as many of my fellow bulldogs have throughout the season so far, but those who stay even in the midst of this immense pressure are the most beneficial at the end of the day. Pressure is not always a bad thing; it weeds out the weak and brings forth the diamonds. Like I said before, "You gotta really love it."

The Edge of Civilzation

Tumbleweeds, cacti, and lastly wild cattle. It was almost like jumping of the edge of the planet and landing on the frontsteps of Mars. I remember when I was little I would sit and watch old western shows and also many cartoons depicting the western half of the US thinking it was impossible for human life to survive and thrive in an environment like the North Texas--New Mexican border area. In my lifetime, I have been to numerous parts of the United States including much of the north-east and as far as Florida, but never have I changed geographical landscapes such as the Midwest has shown me. The team and I loaded up the trusty ol' buses and headed north to Alpine, Tx. to play against the Lobos of Sul Ross State University. Going into this week we knew we would have to play at our best to take down these guys. We had to start fast and control the tempo of the gameplay while simultaneously keeping their offense out of the endzone. Also, we had to play in a foreign climate than ours. Lobos Stadium is located on what feels like a plateau with a mountain casting an enormous shadow along the field. As a precaution to these what the team called "extreme conditions," the team gave it our all at practice to get used to pressing on after fatigue has set in. Upon arriving to the hotel the team noticed that our hotel appeared out of nowhere. Just looking out of the windows of the bus, all you see is mountains and desert. This sight carried over into our warmup before the game as we walked through and went through our drills. When the kickoff whistle blew, my fellow bulldogs charged to attack the Lobos and at the end of the exhibition, the Bulldogs proved to be the "Bigger Dogs" in the fight. We pride ourselves on winning with class, so how perfect was it that our offense held a comfortable lead throughout the fourth which granted us the oppurtunity to kneel and end the game. It also wasn't to bad that I caught my first interception! Well. Over and out.

Playing for more than just the Team

As Texas Lutheran Bulldogs, we have the duty and responsibility of upholding the morals and principles set forth by our Alumni football players. The men of the 72'-74' Texas Lutheran football team brought to the small city of Seguin an era of academic and athletic prosperity. These men won the NAIA DIII National Championship. Even now, this is an amazing feat so given the oppurtunity like we have now to repeat we must follow through not only for our personal gain but for this college, community, and also those men who relive their glory years through us. On gameday before our first conference home game against Howard Payne, Coach Padron brought in an ex-Headcoach to give us a few words of wisdom. It was an absolute honor for him to come speak to us. Then as if on que, our defensive ends coach, Coach Harris, gave us the best pregame speech I may have ever heard. He stressed to us that we are not the only ones to ever wear those black and golden jerseys. We play for all the men that sacrificed blood and sweat to keep football here at Texas Lutheran. It caught me by total surprise when he stated that Texas Lutheran University got rid of the football program for seven years, which is unrealistic to me. The team that had to start the traditon over failed in a way to set Texas Lutheran a powerhouse in our division. It is our responsibility to show this college that it was the most idiotic thing to ever get rid of our football program by winning and keep filling up the stands. Our turn out at our most recent games has been pretty good and that all comes with its territory. A new stadium, the best uniforms and equipment, and respect must be gained through success and we have no intentions of slowing down. We beat Howard Payne in a blowout and if I may say myself we looked pretty good. We have some things to fix, but overall it was a great game. Well. Over and out.

Road Win

This past Saturday the Bulldogs traveled 6+ hours to Marshall, Texas to play the East Texas Baptist University Tigers. Going there we knew we would be in a dog fight so preparation throughout the week was key if we had any chances of winning. We departed on Friday around 8:30 a.m. to Tyler, Texas where the team grubbed and went to a couple of movies. It was a bonding experience that turned out fruitful because the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs came back from a 14-0 score at the end of the first quarter to beat the ETBU Tigers 44-34. It was an outstanding TEAM performance. Our defense stepped up when we were needed along with our offense being more productive in good field position. Even more impressive was our special team guys who caused a good number of big plays including a 4th down conversion that went about 40 yards, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and setting up great field position the entire night. We had some adversity early on being down by 14 but we stuck it out and kept fighting. In the end, after the fat lady sang her last note, the scoreboard shown us to be victorious. This was a key victory for the Bulldogs. It was not only the first road win for the Texas Lutheran University football program in about 4 or 5 years, but it was our first game in conference play. Our number of wins in conference determines if we make it to the NAIA DIII playoffs in November represting the American Southwest Conference. Also it was nice that we won our first road trip my freshman year. The experience of the bus ride is not like any other. We also stayed in a hotel which was also a first for me. The team became closer making playing on the field easier. I'm hoping we can keep this streak going because we honestly shouldn't lose to anyone. We have the talent to play for the national championship so I won't be settling for less. Our theme this week is commitment, so practice is going to be intense and fast-paced. Our hardwork in practice paid off so the coaches will be pushing us to our limits. Those who keep going even though they are tired really "love the game", so at the end of the day it will be well worth it in the end. Well. Over and out.

Our First Lost

Adjusting to college isn't as hard as adjusting to college football after a lost. Especially a lost that you should have won and adjusting from a team who never loses to a program where losing wasn't uncommon. I never handled losing well so I'm always opposed to laying down and rolling over as a team tramples all over us. The only thing we can do now is learn from our mistakes and get better. Our coaches stressed that they didn't prepare us enough which could have been the case but I think we just needed to execute what we were taught. We also could have called some better plays to adjust the fronts that their coaches were reading. I know its only one lost but it was unnecessary. Since this is my first week of practice after a lost I do not know what to expect. Im hoping it's a bit more rigorous and focused so our training won't be wasted. Playing football is honestly a sacrifice you make for your team. Going to practice, lifting weights, and all the other things we do all take up what little time we have for our studies. To be playing for a D3 school really means you "love the game" because there's no football scholarship so we have to keep our grades pretty high. This becomes alot of work, so time management is key when trying to balance everything. It's bitter-sweet that we are required to have study hall but I find that I get alot of homework and reading accomplished. Hopefully my end of the semester grades reflect all the work and sacrifices I did to succeed academically. I just know football is a big part of me so in the end all the struggles are worth it. There's nothing like being on the field balling out infront of a crowd screaming and yelling after a big play you just made or a touchdown you just scored. It's a tough sport that's why only a few can endure it. As for us Bulldogs, all we can do is head back to the drawing board and come up with something that works. Well. Over and out.