It's different when your kid's the quarterback.
My son is enjoying his first taste of high school football this fall. He's on the freshman team, and after spending most his time in junior football as a quarterback, he's having great success on the field as a receiver, defensive back and punter.
I've never seen him so happy. He's happy with his role on the team, happy being with his teammates both at and away from the field, and in the bigger picture, he appears to be making a smooth overall transition from middle school to high school. As far as football is concerned, he doesn't seem to miss being the quarterback at all (he still is the backup), and it looks now as if not being the quarterback is the best thing that could have happened to him.
The quarterback position is unlike any other in team sports. At every football game, all eyes are on the quarterback, and rightly or wrongly, the quarterback usually gets a disproportionate share of the credit or blame for the team's success -- or lack thereof. Of course, being selected to play the position is an honor, as it means the coach is counting on you to do a lot for the team. But sometimes it seems it might just be more fun to play a position with less pressure attached to it.
The boy who is playing quarterback for the freshman team is a great kid -- and a great quarterback and athlete. He and my son have played football together since the second grade, and while they don't hang out together away from the field, they do like and have a tremendous amount of respect for each other. They share the same values as far as desire to win, work ethic, etc., and I view them almost as partners dedicated to working together to help the team win. I've been friendly with the boy's dad since our sons were on that second grade team together.
The boy's older brother is the varsity quarterback, and sometimes I feel bad for their parents at games. Not the freshman games, so much, but the varsity games can be brutal. At a recent varsity game, the older brother was struggling some, and I was disappointed to hear parents in the stands yelling at him. On one play, the mother of another player screamed at the quarterback, yelling frantically at him to throw the ball as the defense closed in him. When he did, and the pass was incomplete, the mother yelled at him again, shouting, "Who are you throwing it to?!''
The following game, another parent approached the quarterback's dad and their conversation -- about football -- became so heated that they had to be separated by a third man.
My first thought, when I saw the one incident and heard about the other, was: What the heck is wrong with people, yelling at high school kids?
My next thought was this: If this is what happens when your kid is the quarterback, I'm glad my son isn't the quarterback.
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