Mid Week Post

It has been a week full of push ups and squats and other exercises designed to get me ready for the up coming games. I really need to get out and run. Especially after this last week's practice. For a change, I was throwing the ball rather than snapping it, and I found that after a dozen or so throws that I could still throw.

But my passes were anything but crisp. The timing was off on several of them and I wanted to bury my head in the sand by the mid point of practice. Although it was fun, if I really expect anything more to come of the quarterbacking skills I have, I really need to get my speed up and throw a lot more. While the steps are there, I really am glad I did not have to perform any hand offs as I probably would have tripped over my own feet.

But on to this week's practice and hopefully another beautiful day to practice on. It was 65 last week, just warm enough to work up a good sweat and nice with no wind so it was not a typical December day.

Team practice

I always loved to play football in the fall as does most other people who play the game. The days are usually cooler and one does not get as hot when practicing. Today was one such day. With a balmy 65-70 degrees and sunny, the practice could have been one of the best there was all season. But unfortunately, many members of the team didnt bother showing up.

But those of us who did show up had a fun session of mostly pass routes, and then machine gun drills which I volunteered to be the runner for all of the drills. This allowed me to get a lot of hitting in a short period of time. Of course the whole practice was like that with us running our sprints back to back. We all worked up quite the sweat and were mostly happy with the practice overall.

One more practice next week and then back to the games in back to back weeks. It will be interesting but we are now counting down to the end of season...(21 days and counting!)

On the scene

Today is a photography day for me. I am shooting two of the playoff games for the JPFF and will be out at Kawasaki stadium all day. But this is not a bad thing. Luckily I will play my last two games of the season there.

We always talk about a football field being lousy or good in the states, but here in Japan, just having one is a god send. Unfortunately, most of the places I have played over the years were no more than a field converted into a football field for the game. Many more times, we have played on Rugby grounds with field goal posts that were too close and that were actually a throw back to playing in the NFL in the 1950's and 1960's and hazardous to the players.

Kawasaki stadium wasa baseball stadium not long ago. They converted it into one of the few, quite possibly the only football stadium in the country. The astroturf is bad and does not allow the feet to slide at all. But it is a ground and it isnt a rugby pitch that is all dirt. The stadium seats about 3-5000 people and has home and away stands. All this told, it is a nice place to play for the guys playing semi-pro and college ball over here.

So I wont complain and I will go shoot the games and await my turn to play on the field. It will come soon enough.

Mid Week Post

Another week of training and waiting. Luckily I can distract myself with photographing other teams games. This does provide some relief from the end of season blues. Waiting around three weeks is not my idea of fun but then again, it is coming up on December and this is not the best weather for football but then again, look at this weeks Monday Night Football and I guess its not so bad.

And speaking of the NFL, we should take a moment to reflect this week on the senseless violence which brought about the death of Washington Redskin's safety, Sean Taylor. While he was not the shining example of a good citizen, he was making changes to his life. It is sad that the one so young and talented could be cut down so easily.

This seems to be a common theme these days and as athletes, we should always be mindful of the impression we give those around us with our deeds. Whether we are playing for a school, or a private team, we should leave the violence on the field and try to set the example for others to follow off the field.

All-star Practice Session

Today was interesting to say the least. What was supposed to be a full practice for those participating in the All star game turned into a real beat down session for me. As in I got beat down. I am not sure what it was but I was not ready in any shape or form for the practice, and it showed.

Luckily, I have several weeks before my next game and hopefully can correct my issues before that. I guess I got too lazy this week and the lack of training time showed. It is back to work tomorrow as I really need to start getting ready for next season. But am I overlooking the remaining items on my schedule? Quite possibly is the only answer I can give for the reason for my poor performance today.

But more bruises and a sore back are the signs that I had a good practice. I only know that in spite of the 60 degree temperatures, I was pouring sweat during the session as were several of my fellow all-stars.

Mid Week Report

It appears that I was a bit hasty in declaring an end to the season. Now, we not only have the all star game this Sunday but we also have another "friendly" on the 16th of December. After talking to the head of the JPFF yesterday (a former coach of mine), it sounded like things were in action to actually make a game happen. By 5pm, the mails were flying and everyone was talking about another game.

Since the bruises on my arms are clearing up slowly but surely, I guess another game is just what the doctor ordered. At least I wont be sitting around during the holidays getting too fat.

Tomorrow is what we Americans call turkey day and now that it is almost over for me, I guess we will be shooting a few more turkeys on the field. As they say, "bring it on!"

Outlaws win 23-8

Yes folks, we finally won a game. It was not a bad effort ont he part of the 16 guys who showed up to participate in the last regular game of the season. While this leaves us officially at 3-2 and in third place in our block, it would have been nice if we could have put in performances similar to today's in those losses.

But I must admit, it was the best team effort I have seen with good play calling, good blocks with few misses and even better runs. It certainly helped that we had our key players. With only a missed try for point after the first touchdown, the rest came hard earned and at the end of the day, we all were able to feel good about this season.

I have one more all-star game that I will participate in at the end of this coming week and then my season with the Outlaws will be completed. On to King County Jaguars for next season.