Eclectic Shades Magazine August Issue 2017 | Page 44

Hurdling onto The Playing Field of Life:

The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs of Austin’s Own,

SouthSide Honey Badgers

By Amy E Lawrence, MFA, ACSM

It’s 5:57 PM. Monday, July 10, 2017, in Austin, TX. The heat index would rival only the most intense Bikram Yoga class imaginable. However, the heat does little to deter an up-and-coming football team you will hear about for years to come, and for many reasons. Football and cheerleader camp is about to get started for the SouthSide Honey Badgers, and I’m about to experience real joy and excitement. I just didn’t know it in the scorching heat, swarms of mosquitos, and random dogs running off their leashes around the public park. None of these factors seemed to be an issue for any of the young athletes reporting to their first day of football and cheerleader camp.

The SouthSide Honey Badgers, a Texas select football team comprised of around 40 boys aged 4–14 years old, are pulling out some beat-up training equipment from the back of their coach’s truck. Coach Leno Green and Coach Andy Mueller, both founders of the community organization, have had their share of heat put on them. And instead of getting burned, they have learned to take things one spark at a time, and in doing so, I believe they truly have what it takes to set this world ablaze

Founded in June of 2016, the Southside Honey Badgers community football and cheerleading teams are built on grit, grime, and someday soon, glory. These kids are showing up in the heat of the summer with smiles on their faces. They are not entitled, nor “troublemakers” with attitudes. They are where they BELONG. To be with their fellow teammates and their coaches. And to them, that’s more than enough.

These kids are winners through and through, even though they might not know it just yet. A few young athletes are unloading water bottles onto a table set up at Longview Park in South Austin. They are jovial, upbeat, and motivated. I’m trying to pretend to be, but these kids don't have to for a second. Their passion is real. Their struggle is real. And despite any odds, one day, victory too, will be theirs.

I attempt to follow suit, as Coach Green’s wife, Dana, and myself set out to lead the cheerleader camp. We trekked up a rocky hill in the heat with four young cheer camp attendees scampering up the hill. Dana was in charge of the cheer and chant instruction, along with her 14-year-old daughter, Vivian, an exceptional athlete, is a wrestling champion, a member of the honors band at her middle school, and an all-around athlete. Her younger sister, Aleeha, age four, shy but adorable, was ready to groove.

I prepared to deliver a choreographed routine months in advance. Little did I know, the song would change daily, as the routine would, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to what I had prepared. Coach Green informed me with a casual smile, “You just gotta adjust. Daily. And a few times daily.” “What’s he smiling about?” I thought as we wrapped up day one and I headed home to come up with another routine to a song chosen by the girls.

A little frustrated after months of carefully executing choreography, I realized very soon, this was not about me at all. I learned more from these young athletes in one week than I have learned from most adults over my lifetime. So, I just let go and let it flow. And that made all the difference in the world.

( Contine on page 44)