Fall High School Sports

Are You Ready for some Football?

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but High School Football gets it's opening kick offs this coming week...That means one thing -- footballs flying = leaves falling = school starting = snow to come soon.

(I guess that was 4 things.  Never claimed to be a Math major).

Best time of the year?

Considering the fact that I celebrated my 20 Year High School Reunion this past August, it has been awhile since I have strapped on the pads for football.  I loved that sport (still do).  I mean to say that, I really loved playing that sport.  I loved the violence of it.  It's just that the violence didn't love me (two reconstructed ACL's and a broken ankle later...time for golf!).

I preferred to be #26 as opposed to the other guy.

I think about "tryouts" though...I think about that Fall when I was a sophomore (damn those seniors were tough on us!...not as bad as these guys: [link]).  I also think about the GOALS my father set for me going into my sophomore year...they went as follows:

1.  Make the travelling squad
2.  Hope to get on a special teams unit.
3.  Be a kamikaze on the special teams unit.
4.  Hope to get some playing time.
5.  Maybe get the chance to start on the 1st Defensive Unit before the end of the season.

I didn't like those goals.  My goal was "Start on the Defensive Unit from Day 1".  Well...the first game of the season against Grand Forks Central, I was starting on the 1st "D".  I started every game (until I blew out my ACL...Doh!). My book, "Better Than Buzzy" has a lot to do with my pursuit of excellence and how you can do it, too.

I think about people who take chances and those who don't.  It's tooo easy not to take a chance.  It's safe.  It's comfortable.  I have always been one to go 100 mph and see what happens, and I can vouch that I have had more reward than risk (plus a few broken bones...oh well).

What do you think will be your biggest regret?  Taking too many chances or not taking enough?

Here's a chance you can take -- join Ultimate Officials.  Go and click on all those videos on the right hand side of the page and then click on "SUBSCRIBE".  You will NOT regret the chance you took.

Here's what a current UO member has to say:

"I have been a card carrying member of Ultimate Officials (UO) for almost two years and I wanted to make a quick statement about what it's done for me.

In a word, it's Awesome.  I have only been officiating for four years - starting when I was 36. I realized quickly that I was behind relative to most officials out there - and I didn't want to work Peewee B games for the rest of my life.  Thanks to my involvement in UO, I have been exposed to some fantastic opportunities which I would not have seen without J.B. and my UO experience. It's also a great group of guys that lean on each other for situation help, work-out motivation, rule interpretation - and we get together socially quite a bit as well.
It's not just 'old guys' like me. We have a lot of young guys in college who are working in the USA Junior program and are climbing the ladder to work at some of the highest levels in the officiating world, as well as guys in their upper 20s and 30s working high school and college games. It's guys from various stages in life and officiating - the common thread being our love for the game and our desire to be the best.

You may be thinking you can't afford it. Let me tell you - if you work hard, you will be exposed to more opportunities than you would have seen without UO and the extra game fees will more than cover the charge. In reality, you can't afford NOT to be part of it.

It's not for everyone.  If you ref just for the money and don't really care about the game or becoming a better official - then don't bother.  However, if you are hungry and want to work more games and better games, then do yourself a favor and talk to J.B. about it.  You will be glad you did!"

Thank You,

Mike Diebold

I also have one more football-related message for you...the words of this coach are music to my ears...

"If you get hurt, I ain't never gonna call a time out!  You're gonna have to crawl off the field!"

   

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