Benton Crane

BYUi has a tackle football program with eight different teams that all play each other nine on nine. Because I’m married to a BYUi student, they are allowing me to play. It has been fun to fulfill the childhood dream of suiting up in full pads and getting out in the middle of the action. At the same time it has also been quite humbling. I am by far the smallest guy on my team and one of the smallest in the league. None of my gear fits. My shoulder pads hang three inches off of each shoulder and don’t allow me to lift my hands above my face. My jersey is an extra large (better suited for a lineman). My pants are a size too big and sag off my butt like a child’s soiled diaper. My cleats are hand-me-downs from my younger, and much larger brother (they are a full size too large).

Because of my quickness (most of which is negated by my gear) my team put me at corner-back. I have the simple job of guarding the other team’s best athletes one on one in the open field. To this point, I have played in three games. During which, I’ve had two touchdowns scored on me, been beat on a host of different deep plays, missed a couple of key tackles in the open field, and been benched twice.

It hasn’t been all negative of course. I have made a couple of nice tackles and broken up a few passes. I’ve had a couple of shots at getting an interception, but both situations required me to catch the ball above my head. When I couldn’t get both hands up because of my shoulder pads, I had to reach up with just one hand and bat the ball down (still a nice defensive play).

So what’s the lesson I’m learning? This is the first time that I can ever remember being a part of an organization where I’m looked at as a liability instead of an asset. I hate it! I want to make sure that I’m an asset to every team I involve myself with.

There are three games left in the season. I’m trying to find some shoulder pads and cleats that fit. I’m going to play my heart out and do everything I can to be an asset.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 4th, 2007 at 11:17 am and is filed under Uncategorized.