Football plays a huge part in my family’s life. At a young age I was groomed with footballs, posters of football teams, and even with my bed coverings and pillows. At the age of 7, I would go to my cousin’s football games and practices to watch them play. I would play touch football with some of the other kids out there, and the coaches noticed how I was performing. That is when the bidding wars for me to play on teams started. My mother would get daily calls from coaches, from traveling teams and community leagues, wanting me to play for their team. Some of the coaches offered a waived sign-up fee, rides to and from practice provided by the coach, a brand new helmet and shoulder pads, and even free team gear. I ended up playing for my godfather’s team the Dads Club Cowboys. I played with this team from the ages of 8-12. This was one of my favorite teams that I have ever played on. We had a family like team chemistry and I knew those guys would protect me from anything, and I would have done the same for them. This was some of my best times while playing sports. Youth football taught me some valuable life lessons like how to work together with people, how to take constructive criticism, and it taught me how to lose without being upset. If I hadn’t played a team sport at a young age, I don’t think I would have learned how to work with people. Some people may look at football as negative and bad because of the health risks, but there is some good that comes from playing football as well.