Week 9 - Senior Night

Fall 2009- I looked out across the field from the sideline and noticed Justin Hunt was under center, and our QB Bryan Blacka was spread out wide right. (What in the world is going on) Jim and I were losing our minds in disbelief as the last few seconds ticked off the clock with us trailing West Jeff White by less than a score. Just then with only seconds left, Antonio Valero snapped the ball and Justin dropped back to pass.  He launched the prettiest pass that i had seen in all the years of junior football. Deep over the middle, It felt as if the ball was in the air for an eternity when Bryan reached up and snatched it down, he beat the one lone defender and trotted into the in zone for the win over West Jeff.  
On this night as I walked into Volunteer field, memories from years past like this one rushed over me.  I looked around and saw all these young men that we have parented, coached, disciplined when needed, cheered for, and now we are on the verge of sending into the world of adulthood.  My chest swells with pride for all of them, for what we have all worked together to instill in them, but tonight my heart could barely take it.
I arrived at my seat earlier than normal, 5:37 for the 7:00 kick off.  I took note of the tempature it was a warm & dry 75 degrees with a slight wind out of the south.  I sat silently there in a moment of solitude taking in the sounds and smells, but had to quickly return to the present.  Stacy called for me to come down to the field to line up for senior announcements.  Don't forget your sunglasses, I reminded myself, as I reached back to grab them (these would be must tonight). We lined up with the other senior parents, and I think we were all feeling the same thing. Excited for the game to start, but hanging onto every moment, and just trying to slow down the eminent, fast approaching, end of this season.
Announcements started and one by one the fall athletes of this senior class marched accross the field.  I listened to the hopes and dreams that the kids had written about themselves, and their plans for their futures.  It was exciting to hear the big aspirations these kids have. There are future doctors, businessmen and women, a welder, a nurse, and the list went on and on.  They really are the future of this country, and while I cant say that I feel great about their generation as a whole, I can say I feel exceptionally good about this this group of of kids.  Nolan joined us, just before the football players started their part of the announcements. It was exciting to get to stand next to him, and talk to him on the field. He is not a kid that will typically sit back and let you do things for him, but he let me carry his helmet accross the field, which I thought was kind of neat.
"Nolan Larison, accompied by his mom and Dad Matt and Stacy Larison" - That was the last thing I heard...  We headed accross the field, stopping only to smile for some pictures. I'm not sure why I didn't hear the rest of his senior announcement (i tuned it out perhaps) but I didn't need to hear it anyway. I had already heard and read it.  I've been hearing it since he was in the 6th grade, and he's been preparing us for it since then as well. He's inlisting in the Navy, and pursing his dream of becoming special forces.  We all know very few men are truly capable of making it, but I'd bet everything I have on him, he'll make it.  Just like so many of these kids will accomplish their dreams as well.  They just have to be brave enough to believe they can do it, and never quit.  When we got to the other side we shook hands with the coaches, and we got to see a glimpse of the connection that Nolan has with several of the coaches.  Regardless of whether I like everycall or decision thats made, I am truly thankful for the time, attention, and dedication they have all poured into him and all the others as well.  They have made him a better person, and a great team mate.  Finally, all the dads got stand with all of our senior sons on the hash mark for the coin toss. I could feel the excitement, from the boys as game time got closer. After the coin toss, I gave him this parting advice. "No plays off Kid, Take no prisoners. Love Ya".  On the way off the field, got a hug from Sully, and Drew and I couldn't look back.  Just had to push the glasses up a little tighter to my face and march on back to my seat.
The boys in black got it done 35-21 tonight, and secured a birth in the playoffs. The offensive line, paved the way for Jamie who fought hard for yards as he always does.  Nolan took the lead in the CBC for sacks, capturing the QB on 2 separate occasions. One of my favorite plays of the season occurred in this game. Early in the 4th quarter, with the score knotted up at 21's Shawnee had the ball and and took off on an outside run opposite of Nolans side.  A gang of Alder tacklers, had met the running back and his support staff of linemen.  Bryan Blacka  got a hand on the ball and was attempting to work it loose before the refs whistled it dead.  When all the sudden #52 comes blazing a trail accross the field, (from the opposite side) and blows the pile apart like a stick of dynamite. Bodies went all different directions, and so did the ball.  Blacka quickly scooped it up and took it to the house for the score.  Simply an awesome hustle play by Nolan, and smart play by Bryan.
Stacy and I couldn't be more proud of this senior class, and the leadership they have displayed this season.  Nolan, I wrote you letter at the beginning of this season where I gave you some advice for this year about leadership, and leaving it all on the field to make sure you had no regrets when it ends. Its obvious that you took it, and took it to heart.  I am so proud to be your dad, and I'll only be even more proud as you pursue your dreams in your next phase of life.
Well the boys extended their season just a little further with their performance with this win, and all of us parents are excited for each one that we get.  Nice job boys, keep it going....
Next up Week 10 - Graham Local
Photo credit Bill Morgan
First sack of the night!

2nd Sack of th night!

Post sack celebration!

O-Line! (Look pretty pround of themselves!)

Seniors with Coach Glass (his first 4 year class of players)

Waiting to walk accross the field

Taking the walk...

Proud Momma with her boy

Proud dad - Sporting my new favorite sweatshirt

Waterfowl 2017 - Hunting season is here

If you follow my blog you might remember last years post about youth
waterfowl season. "Dads, Donuts, and Ducks". Well this year I didn't
have to make up for any big parenting fail, but we still went out and
had a great hunt.

We rose well before the roosters on Saturday morning, and quickly made
our way to our favorite central Ohio swamp. (I'd tell you where but, I'd
have to kill ya). As it turned out, Pop was in town from Nolans
game the night before, so he tagged along to watch so Owen had a nice
support staff for his early morning duck hunt. We found our way in the
dark, and quickly settled into a dead fall (some beavers handy work) in
the flooded timber better than a full hour before daylight. Not long
after, another flashlight made its way into the swamp with us. I flashed
my light in their direction, thinking they would make a turn one way or
the other and avoid us, but instead they came directly our way. Upon
introductions, we agreed that since there were only 2 actual hunters in
the group (Owen and his new friend Hunter) it would best if we just all
sat together. (It's a pretty small swamp)

The action started fast for Owen and his new buddy at first shooting
light. It wasn't long and wood ducks were cruising bye, Mallards were
flying over checking out our decoys, and a group of Teal were performing
aerial maneuvers that would remind you of the Blue Angles. About that
time a couple teal dive bombed our decoys. As they approached the water,
they banked a hard right and curved left to right in front of us. Owen
quickly swung the gun, touched off the round, and followed through with
his shot. I saw the Miniature F-14 splash down into the swamp lifeless.
Nice shot buddy! (He has officially shot one more teal than I have now)
haha

A little while later he knocked down a immature drake mallard flying
high overhead. Like any good bird dog, I headed out for the retrieve. As
I made my toward the middle of the lake, the water got deeper and
deeper. I was walking along carefully as the water climbed to about 3
inches below the top of my waders. I was about 20 feet from the duck,
when I stepped in a hole that sent me all the way under water. My waders
filled completely with water, and I was swimming with all I had to get
back to an area i could reach. Well after several more attempts all
resulting in swimming back to safety, I finally just swam on out to the
duck. Fought my way back to shore and stripped down to empty the water
out of my waders. When I go back to Owen, he was a little shook up from
watching me fight the deep water in my waders, and I was just a little
more that tired....

Our weekend ended up with a delicious Sunday afternoon snack of Mallard
Duck, and Green wing teal. And yet another memory that Owen, Pop, and I
will never forget....

Early morning buds

Owen and his Teal

Owens and his new buddy

Owen and Pop

A good day

A couple weeks later, the official waterfowl season came in for the rest of us "older folks" that don't get to enjoy the early season youth hunting.  I met my good friend Mat Schmalz at another "undisclosed" central Ohio swamp for an early morning duck hunt. We had a great time, and got to do a little shooting. On the day I scored a nice Drake Woodie, and a nice 8 point buck skeleton in tact, while he scored a Drake woodie, and a Northern Shovler (A fairly uncommon find).  After I shot my duck, I went into the water for the retrieve.  This particular swamp has a very "mucky" bottom, so i was taking my time being careful. After I got the Duck I was heading back to shore, and my boot got stuck in the muck and my foot came out of my wader boot. I fought it for a few seconds, before I landed firmly on my back side (in the muck).  Unable to get up without rolling over into it, I just sat stil slowly sinking further, and further.  Shortly before the water level reached the top of my waders, Matt showed up to give me helping hand getting back up.  I willingly offered to let him take a picture, but like any good friend he declined. I'm afraid I'm starting to see a pattern with me hunting in water!

Sure hope the weather stays warm enough to keep the water from freezing, so hopefully we can all get out again... Hope you have enjoyed  hearing about our early season duck hunting in Ohio.

Matt

My day's harvest

Matt with his Drake Woodie and Northern Shovler!

Week 8 Vs.Tecumseh

The Pioneers battled through yet another gut check last Friday against the Tecumseh Arrows. It was a see-saw battle of trading score for score each quarter with the Pioneers edging them out with 2 scores in the 4th to their one. The final score ended up 35-28 to keep the pioneers playoff hopes alive. 

Tecumseh lost the toss and the pioneers deferred their possession until the 2nd 1/2. The Pioneer defense started out looking pretty strong, and Nolan was on fire to start.  He had 3 early tackles, and was looking like he was going to have a fantastic game.  Then on the next play, he had wrapped up the running back for another tackle when he came under friendly fire and an Alder helmet coming in on the assist landed right on his left elbow.  Over the years of watching him play, I've never seen him take himself out of a game, but almost immeadiately he got up and headed for the sideline with his left arm hanging loosely. I saw him head straight for the trainer and Dr Adams met them there. After quite a bit of a examination, the trainers started taping him up with KT and medical tape.  A few snaps later he was back in on the offensive side of the ball.  The next possession after that kid was back on field every snap. 

At this point we were pretty concerned, as we sit back watching him play with only full use of 1 arm.  When 1/2 time came I went down and spoke to Dr Adams, and coach Glick.  Dr Adams assured me that his bone structure was totally fine and that he had possibly slightly torn his bicep and strained his tendon.  I ask coach Glick if he was "okay".  Coach Glick smiled at me and said "No, but it's Nolan, so yeah he's fine."  The kid came out in the 2nd half and was nearly an unstoppable force.  The Arrows attempted to run away from him most of the game but he still finished with double digit tackles and a sack. 

As a father, it really has been easy to be prideful about how tough he is and how effective he has been this year.  Its been a lot of fun... But as a parent, it's been really difficult to see him get hurt this season, sacrifice his body for his teammates and continue to play through it.  Just today I ask him how his arm was feeling and he said, I'm fine, I'll be good by Friday. His typical response.... After the game, I met him at the locker room and said this. "I love you man, you are seriously the toughest kid I know."

Well anther week has gone by and these guys have proven again and again, they can win when the chips are down or the game is on the line. This really could be a great playoff run with the way these guys play under pressure. A few short weeks will tell.

Next up Springfield Shawnee - Lets get it on! (Not sure we're ready for this but its senior night)

Getting a pep talk pre kick off

Getting worked on in the first quarter

Final Check - get back in there kid! (Do it with one arm!)

Week 7 Vs. Bellefontaine

Our Alder offense missed opportunities failing to produce points in the red zone again this past Friday.  For the 3rd week in a row our offense struggled inside the 20.  Thus bringing the total to 8 trips inside the zone without scoring over the last 3 games.  The defense played well enough to win, keeping a high powered Bellefontaine offense that was averaging nearly 41 points per game to only 19 on the day.  In this game, Bellefontaine struck first blood scoring 7 in the first quarter, then 3 more in the 2nd quarter totaling up to a 10-0 half-time score, despite Alder effectively moving the ball down field on their first two positions (both of which ended in turnovers). Both teams scored in the 3rd, bringing the total to 19-6.  The 4th quarter was pretty unremarkable on the offensive side of the ball for both teams, accounting for no points scored.

Despite a fighting through a mid week practice injury (knee) Nolan had a pretty good game.  We were just a bit more than concerned on Thursday morning, when he came out of his room and almost couldn't walk (He had lots of swelling).  Despite our request to get it looked at, Mr. tough guy assured us that he would be just fine by Friday and was playing regardless of whatever an X-ray might show.  Friday morning rolled around and he still was going up and down stairs one at a time, only using his healthy leg to climb.  Somehow Friday night, even through being a step slower off the ball, and leaving the game twice to be worked on by the trainer (for just a couple snaps) he played nearly the entire game, on both sides of the ball and was somehow still effective. He had double digit tackles, several of which were for a loss of yardage, knocked down a pass (almost came down with an INT) and did his job well on the O-line. Despite the loss, we still stand a probable chance of making the playoffs as long as we win out.

I said last week that this team does not panic under pressure, and I saw that illustrated again in this contest. They have some work ahead of them, but I feel pretty good about our chances of getting it done, and making the playoffs.

I've decided that Nolan may be the toughest kid I know, and the most hard headed as well.... Yesterday, he came through the house and said his knee is 90% now, and should be 100% by this coming Friday. I have to admit, with his future plans after high school I'm glad Stacy and I wont be there to see the struggles he will face.  It was painstaking enough to sit in the stands knowing that he was not well, and yet see him go right back in and fight time after time. That kid doesn't know quite, a trait that should serve him in the future.

Next up for the good guys... The Tecumseh Arrows only 2 - 5 on the season, so lets see if we can actually put someone away this week...

Week 6 Vs. Kenton Ridge

The Alder boys held onto another tough one this past weekend, in yet another barn burner that came down to the wire. Living dangerously seems to be a way of life for this group of boys, but lucky for them they seem to have a knack for it. The good guys jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter. But after failing to capitalize on two possessions in the red zone, Kenton Ridge threw their way into the end zone with 4.6 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. The half time score was 14-7 with KR slated to receive the ball to start the 2nd half.  The Alder Defense forced a quick 3 and out and the offense came right back and scored, pushing the margin to 21-7.  The switch flipped for KR, and they put a fast 14 points on the board to tie the game up. The Alder Offensive line took over and paved the way for a long sustained drive that ended up with Jamie Dye in the end zone (pushing him over 300 yards on the day) KR got the ball back with 6:45 on the game clock, and after a couple first downs, Alder came up with a game winning stop on 4th down.  A couple first downs later, Preston was taking a knee in the Victory formation. The offensive line gets the shout out this week, no backs run for 300 yards without those front 5 getting their jobs done right.

Nolan had solid game this week, with 7 tackles (at least 2 for losses), and a forced fumble. He was pretty ticked off at himself for sliding off of their QB on 3 different occasions, that should have resulted in sacks. I joked and told him I was putting pine tar on his hands next week so they couldn't get away.

Saturday morning after films, I took Nolan to a recruiting visit at OWU.  It was neat to experience it from a parents perspective.  I was impressed with all 11 coaches and the interest they showed in him.  They seem to have done their homework on him specifically, and overall had a very high opinion of Jonathan Alder kids (thanks to a couple of Alder grads that are playing ball there as we speak) We were in their new locker room, new weight room, through all their facilities, and all over campus.  We even got invited back into the locker room for halftime as well. It was a great experience and I was feeling pretty good about the day.  On the way home I ask him if the visit gave him any clarity as to what he wants after high school. He said this.... "Yes, I know 100% that it's not for me, and I am going to stick to my plan to join the Navy to pursue my dream of being special forces" (like he's said for the last 5 years).  It's an increadible feeling to be swollen with pride and empty with fear all at the same time, but that's the only way I can describe what hearing his words has made me feel.  We have no choice but to support him, it's the only right thing to do.

Chris Kyle's dad said it best.  "There's 3 types of people in this world. Sheep, Wolves, and Sheep dogs"... My kid wants to be a sheep dog

For a lot of kids high school athletics are one of the most character shaping activities that they will ever participate in.  This group of boys are really learning a lot of great lessons this season. The last few weeks I've been impressed with their ability to remain calm under presssure (easy to say but hard to do). I've always told Nolan it's easy to be a leader when your up 42-0, who's going to lead when your down, and step up and make a play.  Same goes in life, Its pretty easy when your winning.....

Next up - Bellefontaine (If you think that QB was slippery last week, wait until Friday)

(Photo Credit to Bill Morgan - thanks Bill)

The Good guys

Coach Clapham celebrates with the boys

Just not quite in time

From the sidelin at OWU

OWU Locker Room

OWU Prayer before the game