As I am writing this, it is 5:30 in the morning on October 15, 2017. 鈥淒o-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do鈥︹ That was my best imitation of the 鈥淥pening鈥 iPhone ringtone. In this case, it鈥檚 my alarm, which is both my best friend and worst enemy. I鈥檓 sure many of you can relate to that statement. I wake up, pull off my blanket, and immediately notice how cold my room is. I take a look at my phone so I can check the weather, and SHEESH. The weather forecast this morning says that it is thirty-five degrees outside. That鈥檚 without the wind chill. That鈥檚 splendid (not really). 鈥淎lright, Jay. It鈥檚 time to get ready for practice,鈥 I say to myself. I take a deep breath, and I look at my phone again.
It鈥檚 5:35 now. Practice starts in under an hour now. Perfect. I dig through my closet, which is more cluttered than I鈥檇 like to admit. 鈥淎yye, there鈥檚 where my sweatpants are!鈥 Done. I change into a more presentable outfit to wear on the way to practice. Done. Now, it鈥檚 time to check the time. It鈥檚 5:40. Alright, cool, so practice starts in fifty minutes. Ooh, I have to find a jacket to wear. My dorm is right next to Knowlton Stadium and my locker room, so the cold walk isn鈥檛 too bad. However, I鈥檓 not going to freeze on my way to practice. 鈥淵es! There鈥檚 my jacket,鈥 I tell myself as I put my comfy TDE hoodie on. I check the time again, and it鈥檚 5:45. Cool. I put my headphones on so I can listen to music on the way there. (I listen to music whenever I walk somewhere on campus.) I grab my phone, wallet, and keys along with my backpack as I walk out the door.
I walk downstairs and I already feel the cold air running through the stairwell. Oh, yeah. It鈥檚 about to be a chilly practice. Then I walk out of my dorm. Oh鈥 my鈥 goodness. That wind chill is no joke. Alright, I got this. I begin walking as I play on Spotify. I walk past Philips Gym and through the gates that lead to the athletics complex. I notice that the lights of Knowlton Stadium are still on. That鈥檚 typical, since it鈥檚 still early in the morning. I sprained my wrist this past Saturday, so I have to go to the training room and make sure that it鈥檚 iced up. I walk through the doors and grab a plastic bag. Then I put ice in the bag and place it on my wrist for ten minutes. Done. I leave the training room and check the time again, and it鈥檚 6:10. Thirty minutes to get dressed? That鈥檚 plenty of time.
I walk into the locker room and take my headphones off. I feel the vibrations from the bass boosted speakers as is blasting. I nod my head to the music, and start to put my pads on. First, I put my girdle on. Then, I put my knee braces on. I play on the offensive line (for those who are unfamiliar with football, that means I block people on the defense so that they can鈥檛 tackle whoever has the football), and knee injuries are unfortunately very prominent for linemen. Therefore, we鈥檙e required to wear the braces so that we can prevent these knee injuries. Personally, I don鈥檛 think they鈥檙e very comfortable, but they have been very reliable in terms of preventing injury, so I don鈥檛 mind them too much. Next, I put on my shoulder pads with my hoodie under them. My teammates jokingly tell me how I鈥檓 from the South, so I鈥檓 vulnerable to the cold. My response? 鈥淵ou鈥檙e absolutely right!鈥 I鈥檓 certainly not going to deny it, especially since I鈥檝e been complaining about the weather since I woke up.
One of the assistant coaches walks into the locker room and screams, "PRACTICE STARTS IN FIFTEEN MINUTES! LET'S GO!" Alright, sheesh. It's too early for me to hear all of that screaming. Ironically, screaming is the norm for football practice. It'll either be a coach yelling at his players, or it'll be the players yelling amongst themselves in order to get the energy going. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Then I walk to the mirror in the locker room bathroom. I have to make sure everything looks right. There's an old saying by football legend Deion Sanders I like to follow: I definitely don't get paid for playing NCAA football (there's an interesting ESPN article that discusses that issue ), but the rest of the quote is pretty accurate to me. Ahhh, it's time to go to practice... where the cold is. It is what it is, though. You can't be great without practicing, and that's applicable to anything you do in life. I'll just have to deal with the process and conquer it. Wish me luck!
