From the Bleachers
with Rich Summers
When you watch as many high school sports as I do you see a lot of stuff. Nothing is more heart wrenching than watching a team work an entire season and not get to see any wins as a result of their labors. Make no mistake about it, going to football practice for an entire season from early August until the end of October is hard labor. That does not even include the sweat and blood of off-season work.
I did not attend many practices this season but I saw it up close when my son and his teammates played. I remember Andrew Fragale and Jason Blose as one large contusion, as was everyone else for the entire season. Sometimes the hurts are worse; my son breaking his ankle in a playoff game his junior year is just an example. Football is a physical, brutal sport and injuries are inevitable. Coaches preach conditioning in order to be stronger than the opponent late in the game, but the real benefits in my mind are to avoid injury and to allow the kids to play with extreme discomfort.