This is what it is all about

Okay, another touchy-feely post. (Or is it touchie-feelie? And does it matter?)

So, Saturday morning I get up at the crack of dawn. I take two of my boys to South Sacramento. They are going to a football training. My boys have never played organized football. Their experience, like mine, is limited to throwing the ball around when we are camping or in the front yard.

But its being run by a friend who has forgotten more about football than I have ever known. Sure, I can talk about 3-4 defenses or pass interference, but this dude coached big time college football.So it will be good. But..............................more importantly, it was a good event.

So we show up a bit early. There are a couple of coaches there. I tell my boys to go help out and get some of the equipment out. Now, I don't know a tackling dummy for a ladder, but the boys can ask questions and figure it out. I talk to a couple of the coaches. All is good.

About 7:45, all of the coaches gather. I get called over and we all introduce ourselves. You know these guys can ball when they start talking about playing at Arizona State, Louisville, etc.... Its not like they were just good high school players. Then, my friend, starts a prayer.

I don't sugar coat things on the blog. And I not said this to him so he will read it for the first time the read of you read it. Here I am, all 5'5 of me, shaved head, and white as can be. I am the only white guy there. I stand out in this group. And, I am going out on a limb here, I was the only Jewish guy in the group. Okay, so its not much of a limb. I would bet two lunches on it.

So, these guys do a prayer. I do what I do - I bow my head and pray. I have done this before. At Sunday Soccer we have stopped twice for prayers. I get it. People pray. But here is the deal - you and I may not have the same beliefs, but that doesn't mean we can't stop and share a prayer to A God, even if it is not your God or my God. We wanted the kids to be safe, for the coaches to be safe, for this to be a good thing. It was.

Then this thing starts. They warm up. They need people to sign waivers, get demographic information, etc.... Its not my "job." I am there as a dad and probably as an attorney. But it needs to be done and the nice lady who was there also had to take pictures. So, I sat down, gave the form out, got the information they needed, and entered it. Why? Because it needed to be done.

After a bit, there are some offensive drills. One group has a ton of kids. I see that one coach is trying to catch balls from two different lines. This doesn't work well. Now, there is a small group of parents watching this who clearly have played football. And they watch. And watch................and watch. But how does that help the kids? It doesn't. So out I go to catch footballs from kids who have pretty good arms. (Oh, and just so we all understand, when I jog out there, and I do jog, I call the guy running the drill "Coach." Why? Its a sign of respect and he has earned it.)

The event ended and one of the coaches talks to the kids for a few minutes about the need to listen to their parents, their coaches, their teachers. Its a quick speech. Look, it wasn't President Obama winning the election, but this kid probably hasn't given speeches to 40 or 50 people before.

So what is it all about? What is the point of my run-on nonsense?

We need to come together. You see, here was a guy who didn't grow up here, didn't play his college ball here, but came here to raise a family with his wife. He got involved in the community. He reached out to people who have skills to help him with a vision. He brought in people from all over the country, with different backgrounds, different education levels, different races, different religions with one goal - providing kids with a positive environment to learn a little football, learn a little life, and be around people who can positively effect them.

It didn't matter to me that I didn't have much in common with these guys. I never played football. I don't speak the language that some of them speak, both literally and figuratively. But, when people need help, and when the goal is the betterment of kids, then it doesn't matter. It didn't matter to me, never has/never will, and it didn't matter to them. We were all there for one goal - and we took the first step to accomplishing it.

So, to you, Coach, lelei fatongia.