Elida Takes the Field After Heartbreak
By Pastor Doug Boquist
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Those who think football is a mindless game, simply don’t know the game. There is a lot to learn if a team is going to consistently move the ball up the field. This learning gets intense come the first of August in every city, town and suburb in Ohio. August two-a-day practices provide a crash course to teach new plays, to help players get in better shape and help them improve in the fundamentals of the game. Add a new head coach into the mix, and the learning curve becomes exponentially steeper. But when a team, with a new coach, is hit with a tragedy in the middle of two-a-days, the learning curve goes in an entirely different direction. Suddenly, football is no longer about about Xs and Os, but life.
On Friday, August 12th, a pickup truck full of teammates headed out to a swimming pool after practice, but never got there. Instead, in a freak accident, the truck left the road resulting in the loss of life for two fifteen year-old boys on the Elida football team, Jakob Sexton and Drew Dulebohn.
The next week was surreal for the coaches, players, their families and the Elida community. Young men, many of whom had never been to a funeral, lined up to attend two of them. A new coach, Bill Speller, suddenly found himself in a much different leadership role than he had anticipated. He has led well.
Elida squared off against the Thunderbirds of Lima Central Catholic on Saturday. The Bulldogs were physically ready to play. They performed well in scrimmages against Wayne Trace and Spencerville. They were also spiritually and emotionally ready to play. They were ready to resume a routine that they love. They were ready to carry their two friends onto the field in their hearts. They are wiser now and more mature than their years would indicate. They view the game of football differently. They want to win, of course. But they now realize that journey, and the relationships made along the way, are as important as the destination.
They learned that a school is more than a place to attend classes, and that people cared more deeply for them than they knew. They learned that life is fragile, and often much shorter than we would had hoped. They have learned the value of living life to its fullest every day, and to tell the people that they love—just that—that they love them. They learned that fierce competitors and rivals can have compassion equal to their competitiveness. They learned that life has a clock, just like football, with one profound difference—no one knows how long the quarters are.
This weekend, all across Lima land, stadiums honored the Bulldogs and their two fallen teammates. In doing so, everyone acknowledges that the real value of what we do on Friday nights transcends the score at the end of the game.
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Very good article!
Great insight Pastor Doug! May all who are experiencing this grief reach out and up for comfort and understanding. Prayers for all.
Thank you Pastor Doug for a good article and for being there for so many in their time of need. My prayers go out to all that need them.