Reggie's football highlights

We felt a little whiplash going from last year's football season to this year's season.  Last year Reggie's team lost every game except one non-conference game.  After WAA's first win, we all lavished a little in the strange feeling of victory.  Well it turned out that Reggie liked to win, and his team went on to win every game of the season.  

There was only one close game - against Stillwater.  In that game, Reggie played almost the entire game.  The rest of the games, Reggie would usually play offense until they were 3 touchdowns ahead (usually the first half) and then they would put in the second string. He would still get some defensive playing in the second half.

I'm excited about this team because they had a great quarterback and many players who could make the plays necessary to win.  They also had a great kicker (when he wasn't playing soccer 😉).  Of all the 7th grade football we watched, our team was the only team that ever attempted kicking for the extra point!  

Yes, there's talent, good coaching, and hard work. All of which there was more of than last year's team at OAA. Bryan always talks about the mental aspect of sports.  Last year, it felt like the team stepped on the field expecting to lose.  This team expected to win, and did!  

Reggie waited all season to play against his buddies in Oakdale and finally got the chance in the post-season.  They had a pretty good year, too.  Moving is hard.

Another strategic move our organization made that we think secured success was the size of the team.  There were 39 players.  Many organizations chose to create two smaller teams to guarantee more playing time for each player.  However, this ended up weakening the teams.  The surprising result of keeping the 39 players together as one team was first string tended to play the first half and second string tended to play most of the second half. (Last year OAA only had 20 players on their team.)

With football starting in August, it was great for Reggie to start out at his new school with friends.  He says there are football players in every class, on the bus, and in his lunch.

I hope they stick together for some really exciting highschool football in a few years!