I Feel Horrible (HS Football)?

Question

I am a Freshman who was recently moved up to play with the JV. I am the first kid in school history to not play Freshman Football. Most of the coaches are really helpful except for one which just yells at me and says i will never do anything right. I know I should just ignore this but i can't get him out of my head. It just makes me really nervous to play with the athletes that know exactly what they are doing. I feel really lost and feel like I am worthless to the team. All I want to do is play with my Freshman friends that I have played with for the past 4 years. I feel like they don't even want me to play with them anymore. Kind of like a abandoned them. And the coaches won't let me move back down. Only of few of the JV like me being there and the rest just hate me. Also the guy who's position i took on JV is pissed at me. I just don't know what to do help would be appreciated. Thankyou for your time.

Answer 1

In my experience, older players do not typically "hate" younger players but do look for them to falter as they are both comparatively inexperienced and have little or no chemistry with each other. These are all things that will develop in time. By gutting it out and practicing to the very best of your ability, you will gain their trust and (if you're humble enough/they're not complete jerkwads) their respect. It sounds like the coaches have a lot of confidence in your skills. The best thing that you can do is PLAY YOUR GAME. They're not going to drop you down to the freshy team because they obviously feel that you're on a higher level, so try to take that in stride and DO YOUR BEST.

Don't fell as if you abandoned your classmates. You just got promoted before they did. You're all still teammates, you just play on different squads. I would encourage you to work as hard as you can during drills and conditioning, and watch your JV position-mates very closely to see how things are supposed to work. Remember, the only thing that you get out of practice is what you put into it (if you practice hard, you will play hard, get it?).

My main bit of advice is the hardest to swallow, so bear with me. Above all the chouting and tension and confusion and everything that weighs on you, this bit of advice can be very, very essential: KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE. Do not let your teammates see you with your head down. If you make a mistake, do not make excuses. Just keep going and focus on how you can improve yourself so as not to keep making them. While it's true that they have a leg-up on you because they've been together longer, it's also true that you represent an unknown. Frankly put, you scare them. Do not take that to mean that you're better than them, but rather take that as a challenge to prove yourself, not only to them but to yourself. I guarantee you that if you persevere and face this challenge, you will learn more about yourself this season than you have during any season you've played before. Playing levels are about meeting challenges. I hope you meet yours.

Good luck and hang in there.

(By the way, it never hurts to ask your coaches and/or teammates about things you don't understand. This serves to inform you of things you were confused about, but also demonstrates that you have a desire to learn and do things correctly).

Answer 2

its okay

Answer 3

Get used to being yelled at during football practice or quit now. It won't stop anytime soon.

Answer 4

The time to worry is when your coach STOPS yelling at you.  That means you're as good as you're going to get.  As long as they yell at you it means they want and expect more from you.

Answer 5

u really just worry bout football. Its not really bout friends because then you would be at the mall instead of playing ball. U said u were the first to play jv as a freshmen ...u might have a chance for bigger things then high school. Like college or pros. Just worry bout football and everything will take care of itself. You will get respect on jv as the seaon wears on. ur frosh friends will soon look up 2 u. And the fact that ur coaches yell at u is actually good. This means that he thinks ur not reaching ur potential and that u have a future.

Answer 6

OK.. first off... I'm assuming the season's just started. That being said don't worry about the other kids knowing "exactly what they are doing". You're on JV, nobody knows exactly what they're doing. That is what practice is for, learning. Eventually, through repetition (and having the coach call you things that will make your grand-kids blush) you'll pick things up. You still won't know EXACTLY what to do but you will have a general idea as to where you should be and what your assignment is.

As for your teammates not respecting you or liking you. That's all up to you. You have to earn that through your play. Show them the coach wasn't an idiot when he decided to move you up. Obviously he's seen something in you otherwise you'd still be with your other friends on the lower team.

The thing about coaches is you have to remember, most of them played the game and most of them know the way to "motivate". YELL!!! AND THE MORE SPIT YOU LEAVE ON THE PLAYER THE MORE THE POINT WILL BE MADE!!! But seriously, it seems you have some genuine good coaches that will help you whenever you ask and 1 coach that has taken a liking to you and knows that you can do better than you currently are. Yeah that's right, he's the one yelling at you. When he stops yelling is when you should be worried. I'd even bet he's one of the reasons you've been moved up to the JV squad, he probably has quite a bit invested in seeing you succeed.

Just keep your head up and the next time you have the opportunity knock the slobber outta someone.