So Matt decided to play tackle football this fall. I wasn't too excited about it but Doug thought it would be a good year to try it because the teams are 4th and 5th graders and Matt is in 5th grade. Next year he would move up to the 6th and 7th grade team and it's crazy how big those boys are. The football league is setup so you play with kids that are zoned to the same high school. So it was pretty neat that Matt got to meet kids that he'll be going to middle school with next year. He also got to play with his friends Caleb Mize and Jaden Henderson from the Hooks baseball team and with Lloyd Avant and Will Hill, his good friends from his elementary school.
Matt was one of the only kids that had never played before. And we missed 2 weeks of practice in the summer because we were on vacation and the kids were at camp another week. But Matt did his best and tried to keep up. He wasn't super excited about the hitting and getting hit part. Thankfully the kids that could have plowed him in practice were his friends so they (as Doug calls it) "brother-in-lawed" him during tackle drills.
I could tell Matt was really nervous at the first scrimmage but he caught 2 nice passes and had a long run for about 15 yards down the sideline. On defense Matt played safety and mostly tried to get in on the play after the tackle was already made. This happened for at least the first 4 games but Matt finally got it! He primarily played receiver and a little bit of quarterback. He also got to play on the kickoff and return teams.
Gram, Papa Howie and Tim came up for a game and got to see Matt's first pick 6 in tackle football. It was beautiful and he was pumped! His teammates were super excited for him too. Marlie enjoyed the games. She would go on the field at halftime and do aerials and back handsprings and the fans loved it!
The Bulldogs did really well. They only lost 1 game during the season and made it to the SuperBowl which was played at Rice stadium. The team rode a charter bus to the field and the boys were pumped about playing on a college field. They lost but Matt had the best defensive game of the year. Over the loud speaker we kept hearing, "tackled by #27 Maziur and #9 Hill". You can spot Matt below in the pink socks!
Matt it was so fun to watch you this year. It's the first time in awhile that you've had to play a new sport and you did great. You were also a great leader on the team. I don't know if you'll play next year but we'll be excited to watch you play again in middle school! Thanks to Dad for helping coach and taking Matt to all his practices and games!
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