"Can she pleeeease stop writing about Panther football?" I know some of you are saying that right now, but y'all i just can't help it. It's getting to be that time of year, High 5 Sports is on, the Falcons are at training camp, the practice fields are full every afternoon, and Jackson County football's cup is overflowing! So y'all bear with me one more post; it's football season and there's a lot to be excited about.
My faithful blog followers already know that a couple of months ago I started a little prayer for the Panthers, praying for their summer sessions and for a winning season. I talked about how God had brought us here, kept us here, and is working His will into everything that happens here. I know many of you are also praying for our boys and our coaches and community, and y'all I think it's working.
I also shared the news about a month ago that money and scholarships had been provided to our program so that our entire team could go to FCA camp and experience an environment where Christianity and Football go together. In case you haven't heard, several of our players gave their lives to Christ at that camp, and if you ask the coaches, most will tell you that they came back as a different team. No doubt a stronger, smarter, wiser team than they left. That was just the beginning.
Not long after they returned from FCA camp, the coaching staff held a football camp for little boys. Pre-registration forms had the coaches expecting approximately 50-60kids. Pretty good number, we thought. Night one saw over 100 future Panthers show up to sweat it out on the practice field just like the big boys do. The next three nights the coaches worked their magic and put on a camp that set a precedent for all other camps that follow.
It doesn't end there. The first official week of practice came and went and saw close to 90, yes 90, players covering the practice field. The same school that fielded 40 boys the first year we showed up now has to order more equipment and jerseys to suit everyone up. Players from other counties have moved in and joined the team, kids who have been students at JCCHS for the last couple of years are now first-time Panthers on the gridiron, and the faithful few who have worn the Panther jersey since they were freshmen are now our senior leaders. Good things are happening.
Today was picture day and senior picnic at Hurrican Shoals, a Panther tradition as long as we've been here. Ninety-one players lined up for the team picture this morning, and over 200 players, parents, coaches, and family members celebrated the beginning of the season tonight at the park with a covered dish cook-out. These weren't parents dropping their kids off only to pick them up later. These were parents who brought casseroles, chips, and lawn chairs and did the whole meet and greet thing, biding the time til they can share the bleachers on Friday nights. Exciting things are happening.
It's kind of like a puzzle, I guess. You ask for one big thing in the beginning, say a winning season. And little by little, things start happening, one piece here, one piece there, until finally they all fit together and in the end you realize you got what you asked for. Sometimes it takes a little time, a lot of patience, and of course, a lot of work. At least that's the way I hope it works. Either way, it's pretty cool to watch how God keeps dropping those pieces down for us. I guess it's up to us, though, to put them together and make the final product happen.
So Y'all keep on praying and watching for the pieces to fall!
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