The weather wreaked havoc with Vermont high school football’s week #2, and the shortage of officials made the situation even more challenging.
Vermont Teams had three games cut short and not rescheduled. One of them was declared a tie. Another game took three days to complete. It was scheduled for Friday, rescheduled for Saturday, then again on Sunday. Our team made the 2-hour drive across the state to Colchester and our only time on the field was for pregame warm-up. Lightning struck just as captains were lining up for the coin toss. We spent 2 hours in their gym as kickoff was pushed back 30 minutes with every strike of lightning. One might think this situation would be disappointing, aggravating, or frustrating, but our team’s reaction was just the opposite. Our players asked if they could bring in a Bluetooth speaker and get the bag of footballs so that they could play music and toss the ball around for as long as it took to resolve. It became an opportunity for our team to bond, to have fun together, and to just play as friends.
As lightning continued and 9pm approached, both schools agreed to postpone the game until Sunday at 11am. Saturday was not an option as we could not secure officials. Our team remained spirited for the 2-hour return home then showed back up early Sunday morning for Round 2 with the same enthusiasm. At a time when people traditionally gather for church services, we were taking the field to play a football game. I was initially concerned with how the long weekend of travel coupled with the early Sunday morning would impact our performance, but my concerns were eased quickly. This past Friday night’s storm brought us a silver lining: our time bonding and playing together paid off with a cohesive and impressive road win over a good team. One of the benefits of mutual struggle is that it brings people together. Sharing privation and being thrown into a difficult situation with others facilitates the bonding process.
Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!
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