This weekend the 6th Grade PKFL Championship game will matchup the Hays Outlaws vs Hays Gamblers! Yesterday, my son was hanging out with a couple of his buddies from the Gamblers team and it made me want to post this.
There are so many parents stressed about this game, yes parents! Ultimately, this is another game where the best two teams in the league will play to decide who gets the biggest $4 trophy. As an “Outlaw Coach,” I certainly hope that we play phenomenal and win the game. I’ve seen how hard these boys have worked, and would love to see them finish with another victory! We want to beat the Gamblers, badly!
However, I also know that if our team loses the game, we will end up as runner up to another special group of kids. A group of kids that have also busted their butt, and worked hard all season! We know how badly the Gamblers want to beat us on Sunday! If they didn’t have that desire, they wouldn’t be the dominant team that they are now. When you really take a step back and look at this and what parents should feel, they should feel proud! Proud of their son, and proud of his friends on both sides. The Hays football scene seems to be alive and well!
Fast forward to Sunday, if we are fortunate enough to win this final game, I will be pumped! If we don’t, I’ll be happy for those young men on the opposite side of the field for beating our team that I respect so much. These are kids that my son hangs out with, goes to school with, plays basketball with, and kids that he really enjoys being around.
These are kids that I’ve coached in other sports, kids that will be on my sons team moving forward, kids that we respect their athletic ability, kids that I will always be trying to recruit over from TMP, and kids of a whole different group of parents that love their son just like all of the Outlaw parents. On the other side is a group of coaches who have also volunteered their time to try and give their squad the best experience they could have, and they have done a phenomenal job!
SI’m hoping that some people that are completely stressed over this “youth football game,” can really take a step back and just be proud of what this special group of boys from Hays, Kansas, have accomplished! On Sunday, around 7PM, the 2015 PKFL champions will be awarded their trophies, and those boys will be jacked! About 30 yards away will be the runner up trophy winners, and those boys will be temporarily heartbroken. Here’s to hoping that sportsmanship and mutual respect for all these young men and coaching staffs will allow for an awesome time for all of these players and families. We’ve been telling our players all year long that the two best teams in the league are here in Hays, and we were right!
I certainly hope that our Outlaws come out victorious, but if we don’t, I’ll need about 13 seconds after the final buzzer to start celebrating with that Gamblers team! If any team can beat this group of Outlaws, they have my respect!
Good luck to all of these young men that get an opportunity to play in a championship game in front of all their family and friends at FHSU! What an awesome experience! As parents and coaches, let’s make sure we are part of that awesome experience! They deserve it!
Seth Oakley, Hays