Cameron Riles is a sophomore at Bradwell Institute and is in his second year as a member of the JV football team. Riles wants to become a sports journalist.

Football is a team game. Athletes are on the team, coaches are on the team, but not many people know about the other part of team. The part that gets the lines for the field painted, the part that makes sure all the concessions are ready, the part that cleans under the bleachers and waits to do it again after the game. The part that makes sure the electricity on the field is working. And, most of all, it’s about the part that gives you a real reason for going to the game. It’s not just about the game; it’s about the people who make it special.
Imagine a football stadium. The game is about to start. You go to take your seat, and there’s trash everywhere, the lines on the field aren’t painted, the food at the concession area is old and moldy, and the scoreboard has certain bulbs that just won’t light. The stadium looks that way because nobody cares enough to take the time to clean it up. Not many people do.
That’s why it takes somebody special to go out in heat of the day to paint the field, order new snacks and grill more food for fan enjoyment, test the scoreboard to make sure you know what’s going on in the game. These people are the heroes of the football game. Without them, there wouldn’t be anything special about Friday night football.
Although an athlete’s job seems so obvious to many people at a game, very few know what preparation of the athlete is like. Being hydrated or well starched or in good shape is only the beginning. An athlete takes the time to get his mind clear. He goes to bed the night before the game and dreams about his performance, about how he just goes out and dominates on the field. He waits for game time anxiously. He stares at the clock in class and watches the seconds go by like hours and the hours like days.
But by the time all of the actual hours are up, it’s game time. His moment comes. He runs out on the field in front of all the fans in anticipation. He’s ready. It’s his time. It’s game time.
More goes into a high school football game than anybody not involved can understand. It’s a team effort. From the star quarterback to the maintenance man, everyone has a job on the team. And every goal of a team is clear. It is execution.