05/16/2024
Finally, I had discovered it. I have always been a skinny guy, not exactly an advantage for a football player. But now, I had something. A way to level the playing field. I had accidentally discovered the blindside crack-back block.
I had a cup of coffee as the starting tight end on our sophomore football team in high school. I discovered the block in practice a few weeks before the preseason started. I didn’t have a chance to use it during our first game, but after the way everyone responded to my discovery, even the seniors and the coaches, it was always in the back of my mind. Then came the second game.
The play call came in from the sidelines. Our quarterback was specifically instructed to run with the ball. I would have an opportunity to use the block; an opportunity to deliver a heavy blow to an opposing player, and to blow up the stadium as a result. My mind was made up.
Since the quarterback had the option to run or pass on this particular play, I was required to run down the field as a receiver first before I could come back to the ball to make the block - I will never forget the sound of a good helmet-to-helmet hit, or the feeling of delivering one.
Just as I broke my route off to look for an opposing player to block, I saw the ball sail over my head. The quarterback had decided not to run with the ball, but to throw it. To me. I was all alone, wide open, and it appeared that I had given up on the play just as the ball came my way.
Needless to say, I never started another game. Coaches tend not to like players who appear to give up on easy opportunities to help the team. Over the years, this experience has taught me a powerful lesson: “don’t be so sure of what you want that you wouldn’t take something better.”
-Preston Rhoades