Hello, everyone! Welcome back to my small-town blog. For this post, I will be focusing on athletics. It would be no stretch to argue that athletics represent the heart of my town. I personally see athletics as an escape for many of my fellow community members. The events serve as a place for children to mingle and adults to escape the stress of their nonstop workload.
I participated in a sport for every season since the age of five. If this seems like an overwhelming amount, you may be surprised to know that my nearly entire community has done the same thing. Little League football is treated like an NFL tryout. Fathers line the field to scream and cheer for their little superstars. Tee ball is the local comedy show, as most players spend more time eating sand than playing. Little League basketball refuses to lower the rims, “because that hurts the chances of the team winning a state championship in high school.” In case you haven’t noticed, my community is very competitive. From the moment a young boy/girl walks onto the court or field, it is all business.
Before you start to think it’s unhealthy to promote competition at such a young age, remember my environment. I grew up in an area where jobs were limited. If you were laid off or fired, it may take months to find another job. Sports were our parents’ method of teaching us to work harder than those across the table. Even today, I can still remember my Little League basketball coach yelling, “if you are not here to be better than the person beside you, then leave. By taking it easy, you’re cheating yourself and your teammates.”
It was this mindset that set stage for my favorite set of memories. After a long week of struggling through classes, jobs, and stress, the community would come together for one thing. Every Fall Friday at 5:30 P.M, the lights above the football field would come to life, illuminating the painted lines and bleachers. By 6:00 P.M, the bleachers would be overflowing with green and gold. Cars would be parked along the main road, as the parking lots were far past full. I would enjoy a homemade meal prepared by the “Grandmas of East Hardy Football.” Upon finishing our meal, the team would drive to our reserved spots and enter the locker room. Moments later, we would gather for a prayer. The melody of “Seven Nation Army” would signal the green light to open the door. From that moment forward, the small-town crowd would not rest for the remainder of the night. Every hit and touchdown earned a cheer. Every questionable call was meet with clever jeers. When the clock finally hit zero, the bleachers remained full (except for the visitors). My hometown would gather, wrap arms, and sing the fight song.
The memories I made on that field will stay with me forever. Taking off my jersey for the last time was the hardest thing I have ever did. It was an honor to represent something so meaningful to my community. My countless hours of dedication were rewarded with the first two West Virginia “A” State Football Championship appearances in school history. Despite my growing distance from that field, I will always bleed green, gold, and East Hardy football.
Image Source: Aden Funkhouser
It’s interesting to see just how pivotal sports were to your life and your town as a whole. In my town sports were always central, but to more of a niche community and less the community as a whole. However, it seemed the whole community came together when our town’s Little League baseball team won the national championship.
It wasn’t my entire community, but my dad raised me through sports to fight for everything, so I can totally relate. I thought it was really insightful to relate your town’s passion for sports to the values that you all hold. I also remember the struggle of taking off my jersey for the last time, and I still have my helmet in my room. Although I have been lucky enough to continue playing a sport in college, high school sports are truly unique, and to me, more meaningful than any other level.
I agree that it is not unhealthy to promote competition at a young age. I swam competitively growing up, and felt that same sense of camaraderie whenever our team had a meet or when we would all get dinner together after finals. I think that this kind of contrast—getting yelled at but also feeling satisfied with yourself when you accomplish something—is what has helped me in other areas of my life, like school, since sports can help you learn how to persevere, work hard, etc.
I certainly whole heartily agree with the sentiment that sports serve as an space from life. Growing up in a really diverse town was great for many things like taking education and safety extremely seriously. But it comes with its draw backs to having such a polite and intelligent people we had a culture of “softness” where contact sports were the shame of the town as our student were seen as nerds who didn’t have much to contribute. While not getting into to much detail sports like football which you mentioned become a focal point of a new emerging culture of my town
I think the impact high school sports has on a community is a really meaningful and interesting dynamic. A certain level of faith and passion is instilled by everyone into these young people with the hope that it will lead to future success. Playing lacrosse all throughout my life I had a similar experience to that, obviously, it did not mean nearly as much to my community but I am glad that you were able to give back to yours in that way.