Something struck me this year as I was visiting all six Salem-Keizer High Schools for the start of fall football practices. In fact, the feeling was so strong that I felt compelled to boldly share with the players running, grunting, and sweating on the fields during the week.
For those who don’t know my background, I have been broadcasting prep football on the radio for better than 35 years, and these annual visits to the fall camps prepare me for the upcoming season. With a half dozen state title game calls on my resume’—including three championships—I can say that the thrill of high school football is something that has never gotten old.
The fact that my father was a high school coach for over thirty years, and that we broadcast together for another thirty, makes that passion even more enduring.
But for all that on-air excitement, I can say that it still pales in comparison to the three years I spent toiling on the field as an actual high school player.
To be sure, I was never an all-star. No all-league honors or Shrine game appearances, but I was honored as the top special teams player my senior year—while also being a part-time defensive starter in the secondary. I know players of every stripe from years and decades on either side of my time—some legit all-state and all-league performers—some like me with some varsity experience—and some who only played a handful of snaps during their playing days.
One thing almost every one of us former players share—regardless of our graduation year--is a great affection for the time we spent at practice, in the locker room, and on the field. My gut swells with emotion watching the drills, hearing the trill of the whistle, even smelling the pungent aroma of the locker room perspiration that takes me back to those hot summer sessions of preseason practice, and the days and weeks of practices and games that began with scorching temperatures and ended with the chill of autumn at the conclusion of the season.
My favorite memory from my own experiences was during my junior year. At 5 feet 7 inches tall and about a buck-forty—I was a bit undersized, although my tackling prowess earned me a good measure of respect. The memory, though, involved a practice where I was selected to be a running back behind the first team offensive line leading up to a big game that week—I honestly forget who we were playing. The team that year (Sprague High—1977) would make the state playoffs for the first time in school history.
Behind that first team offensive line, I ran the ball six straight times. Our well-worn practice field had no real yard markers, but I know positive yardage was gained against the best of the defense that was left to take on the offense. Now I knew I wasn’t going to play at the varsity level in that upcoming game, but from my perspective, the coach’s decision to insert me in the backfield was the ultimate compliment. It still warms my heart a bit to recall it.
The only souvenirs I have from my football days are a few locker posters stuffed in a memory book, my yearbooks, and an old, ratty practice jersey (see photo) that I kept knowing it was destined for the garbage can very soon. But the memories of those three years of football remain vivid in my brain. They helped to shape me into the man I am today. I am forever grateful for the coaches who guided me, and the teammates who remain friends to this day.
So at every practice field I visited (and videotaped) this year in the Salem-Keizer area, I encouraged the young players with the slender frames and endless energy to savor the memories of their football careers—both the good and bad moments. Because for most of them, it will be the culmination of their high school football careers. Those recollections will become a part of each of them, and hopefully, will make them smile every fall.
Enjoy, kids.
NOTE: Mark’s video tour of the Salem-Keizer 6A/5A prep football teams will be shared the week of August 22nd.
Mark, Great read. Brings back the sounds, smellls, comraderie, and long-term relationships that were forged on the grid iron. As we age and lose our classmates from many years ago, we will never forget the brothers we made. ‘Boom Boom Out go the Lights’ by Pat Travers was our team song. Never forget the time as quarterback the clock was running down to 2 minutes and Coach Ackerman called for a timeout. One of our guards, Mike Larson said ‘no Kenny. The 2- minute warning is coming up’ causing me to pause. Then I realized not in high school. We laughed about in the huddle so hard. RIP Mike Larson! Take all the 2-minute warnings you want now!