I am 33 years old and am in training to become a semi-pro football player. I have wanted to be a football player since I was in middle school. Unfortunately, I was very small as a child and my parents, fearing for my personal safety, put the old kibosh on my football dreams. Not ever getting the opportunity to play has always been on the back of my mind even though I had the opportunity to try, and excel, in a variety of sports.
Since I am not getting any younger I figured there may only be one chance for me to finally fulfill my longstanding dream to play tackle football. To that end, I have chosen to dedicate the next 18 months to training and building the skills necessary to be a competent player. As a professional writer, I will also be documenting my journey as a part of an upcoming project.
I will be training primarily as a punter/kicker, although I will also be practicing skills which will pertain to the placeholder, wide receiver, and quarterback positions.
Will my journey be easy? Heck no! Semi-Pro football is no joke. The vast majority of semi-pro football players are young, fast, and strong, and have at least high school experience. A large number of players have college experience ranging from JUCO up to Division 1 BCS. There are even a couple former NFL, CFL, and AFL players kicking around in American Semi-Pro football in any given year.
How do I think I can do this? My major strength I bring to my mission is my ability to train and learn new athletic skills. I am counting on this trait/skill to enable me to pick up the skills of football, as well as develop the strength and speed required to be of use to a team. Just as Lance Armstrong became a good marathoner after being a great biker, Eric Hyden became a good cyclist after being a great speedskater, and Emmit Smith, Jerry Rice, and Warren Sapp became wonderful dancers after being excellent football players, I hope to use my past experience to accomplish my mission of taking the field.
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