Every week Coach Fiddler will be writing on blackknights.eu about matters regarding football, life and everything in between.
I often think about the many things that the game of football has done for me, and I wonder about the impact that it has in various ways in the lives of all those who choose for the sport to be a part of their lives. Some do it for money, others the roar of the crowd, and still others for the friendships they will gain.
Very few people will reach fame and fortune in their lives through the game of football, and for most they will receive most of the benefits of the game through other measures. For me on a personal level football financially has simply allowed me to reach a level of sustainability, and the ability to provide for my family. However, it has on a larger level impacted me in less tangible ways. I have accomplished great triumphs on the football field and on the sidelines, but I have also suffered tragedy and loss.
Most of the positive experiences I have are not connected to big wins in big games, although those are more than welcomed experiences. Rather, the best things that I have experienced through football are the friendships I have developed around the world, and the amazing locations that I have had the opportunities to visit. Other than in War (a situation which sports can never compare), Sports especially Football, are one of the last venues that allow a group of people to come together to achieve such physical and mental goals at one time. These experiences that you have within that group of people (including the fans) when you are striving your hardest for a common goal, creates a bond between the individuals involved for life.
We cannot address the positives of Football and truly appreciate them without understanding the tragedies that are simply a part of the game. Whether the participants of the game like it or not, in the game of football there will be a winning team and a losing team. Also, although none of us like it there will be injuries throughout a season that will have an effect on the team and the individual in differing ways. However, as someone who has suffered through loss and injury in the game of football I know that my instances of greatest growth within the game have come from my greatest hardships. Football is a great game in that way that you can always step back up and compete and there is room for constant growth each and every day within the game not only on an individual level but on a team level as well.
What I will always remember and take from the game of Football is that its participants have the opportunity every day to have an impact on some part of our World, and that this game although only a game, can have an amazing impact on each and every individual who chooses to play or to love the game.
– Coach Fiddler