Head Over Heels (Part 2)

(Continued from yesterday)

As the running back lumbered toward me and as I was fulfilling my obligation to close the gap between us by moving toward him, all the coaching and months of drills and practice were echoing over and over in my head. “Bend your knees. Get low. Power into the tackle”. Of course there was also the other voice in my head screaming, “Look at the size of that thing! Run Away!!!”
As the two of us were about to meet “officially”, I had a quick, but strong, shot of confidence and almost started saying, “I think I can. I think I…” and then POW!! Hope, confidence and all the hours of training could not compensate for the extra 95 pounds of running back.
Like a B.B. hitting a freight train, I went straight backwards and quickly noticed how I was seeing clouds instead of grass. At one point, my feet swooshed by as if running through the clouds. I was airborne, spinning head over heels, and slightly dazed.
Now nothing makes a big…sorry, huge running back happier then to run over the top of a vanquished opponent. This running back was to make no exception. And as I hit the ground and found myself on my back, I noticed the big boy again entering my space, this time exactly over me.
If one is upright and one extends one’s legs, there will be a penalty flag. It’s called tripping. If one is flat on their back and extends one’s legs straight up, it’s called a tackle. I stuck my legs straight up in the air and made the tackle. I agree, the style was not anything for the highlight reel, but it worked then and the two or three other times the two of us met later in the game.
My old football coach, Coach Hatch taught that it was the small things that mattered. But when you’re dealing with a big thing, a huge thing, bigger then you might be able to handle, I am sure Coach Hatch would advise, “Just do what you can”.
All dignity aside, of course.