01-10-2020, 02:38 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-12-2020, 04:39 PM by JKortesi81.)
Herb Altee: Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teas
It all came down to this one play. Seemingly everything in my life had built up to this point. A Texas High School State Championship for my hometown Skyline Raiders would cement my name in the city’s history for generations. It would bring me scholarship opportunities to schools I never would have dreamed I’d be able to attend as a kid. Most importantly, it would open the door for a career playing the game that I love.
The quarterback snapped the ball. It was 3rd and 2 and pre-snap I realized right away that they were in a play-action set and were going to try and surprise us by getting one over the top. The only question was from where. As soon as the QB faked the handoff to the upback I recognized the intended target was not a receiver at all but the half-back who was running out wide to the right to set up the wheel route. I stood my ground and didn’t bite on the post route coming into my zone. Instead I crept toward the sideline and as soon as the ball was released I pounced.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]///[/div]
This isn’t where my story started though, or even where it will finish. It started in a one room apartment in a shady part of Dallas ironically known as Pleasant Grove. To anyone who lived there, the Grove was anything but “pleasant”. So common were the sound of gunshots and sirens in the night, that they rarely even woke me up. The lights from the first responder vehicles made our efficiency light up each night like some sort of a demented Christmas scene. It was a weird place to grow up for the son of two “Olympic” athletes, but then again curling in the state of Texas has never been the most glamorous of sports. The sport of choice around these parts is football, and from the earliest age I can remember, my dad had me at the field from dawn til dusk working on drills. I now understand it was partly to help me learn the game, but mostly to keep me out of the apartment as much as possible. My first team I ever played for was the Pleasant Grove Teenage Mutant Ninja Pickles.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]///[/div]
I realize I probably need to explain that one for the audience. Basically, we were given green jerseys by the city. Half our team wanted to be the teenage mutant ninja turtles and the other half wanted to be the pickles. The coach, not wanting to support either of these stupid names for a football team, decided to support the stupidest decision possible and put the two together. In a pee-wee world of lions, and tigers, and bears, it made us unique. You know what else made us unique? Me. The 62 pound quarterback who ran on every single play and led the league with 84 touchdowns in 12 games. The one who routinely carried 3-4 defenders twice his size to the endzone on his back because he just didn’t want to get tackled. But defense was my first love. Back then most teams didn’t pass much so I would just load up on the line of scrimmage and try to blow through the A-Gap as fast as possible, and 9 times out of 10 it usually worked. By 7 years old I was forced to play 4 levels up and was still dominating on a weekly basis. The high school coaches at Skyline had been sneaking me playbooks since 6th grade making sure I was becoming as much of a student of the game as a raw athlete. And that love of breaking down the film and the playcalls of the opposition was what brought me to that special moment I started the story with.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]///[/div]
I had been studying the Austin Westlake film for months. They had won 3 straight state titles coming into the game, so it seemed like a lock that if we were going to make it, we’d have to go through them. And that’s how I knew the play action was coming. 93% of the time over the last 3 championship seasons, Westlake ran the ball on 3rd and 1. But 3rd and 2 was different. On 3rd and 2 that number dropped drastically to only 61%. On 3rd and 2 Westlake loved the PA. They would throw it all over the field and it usually resulted in a major gain that often times clinched a game in the dying moments. But there was one catch. Anytime the ball was faked to the fullback, it almost always meant the halfback was coming out of the backfield and would have a prime matchup on a slow and oversized linebacker. Recognizing this instantly, “I stood my ground and didn’t bite on the post route coming into my zone. Instead I crept toward the sideline and as soon as the ball was released I pounced....”
The beauty of the play was that as I watched the ball into my hands, I also was able to see the eyes of the quarterback light up like miniature full-moons with confusion as I made the catch. I waltzed into the endzone untouched. (No like, I legit waltzed.. 1-2-3 1-2-3..) There were only a few seconds left now, but the game was out of reach. We did it. We were State Champions.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]///[/div]
After about an hour of celebrating with my teammates, I was told that someone wanted to talk to me and that they had called my Coach’s cell phone directly. At first, I assumed it would be one of the numerous colleges who were lined up and ready to offer me a scholarship. Instead, they said they were a commissioner of a simulation football league and that they couldn’t wait to see me lining up for one of their squads after college was done. At first I thought it was strange. But now I can’t believe it’s finally here. In just a few short days, I’ll be donning the jersey of a DSFL team and on the road to becoming the most highly sought-after member of the season 21 draft class. Never in a million years would I have dreamed that a boy from the Grove could have an opportunity like this. It’s completely unbelievable. Completely crazy. You might even call it...InsaniTEA.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Herb Altee /// S S20 DSFL Rookie[/div]
It all came down to this one play. Seemingly everything in my life had built up to this point. A Texas High School State Championship for my hometown Skyline Raiders would cement my name in the city’s history for generations. It would bring me scholarship opportunities to schools I never would have dreamed I’d be able to attend as a kid. Most importantly, it would open the door for a career playing the game that I love.
The quarterback snapped the ball. It was 3rd and 2 and pre-snap I realized right away that they were in a play-action set and were going to try and surprise us by getting one over the top. The only question was from where. As soon as the QB faked the handoff to the upback I recognized the intended target was not a receiver at all but the half-back who was running out wide to the right to set up the wheel route. I stood my ground and didn’t bite on the post route coming into my zone. Instead I crept toward the sideline and as soon as the ball was released I pounced.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]///[/div]
This isn’t where my story started though, or even where it will finish. It started in a one room apartment in a shady part of Dallas ironically known as Pleasant Grove. To anyone who lived there, the Grove was anything but “pleasant”. So common were the sound of gunshots and sirens in the night, that they rarely even woke me up. The lights from the first responder vehicles made our efficiency light up each night like some sort of a demented Christmas scene. It was a weird place to grow up for the son of two “Olympic” athletes, but then again curling in the state of Texas has never been the most glamorous of sports. The sport of choice around these parts is football, and from the earliest age I can remember, my dad had me at the field from dawn til dusk working on drills. I now understand it was partly to help me learn the game, but mostly to keep me out of the apartment as much as possible. My first team I ever played for was the Pleasant Grove Teenage Mutant Ninja Pickles.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]///[/div]
I realize I probably need to explain that one for the audience. Basically, we were given green jerseys by the city. Half our team wanted to be the teenage mutant ninja turtles and the other half wanted to be the pickles. The coach, not wanting to support either of these stupid names for a football team, decided to support the stupidest decision possible and put the two together. In a pee-wee world of lions, and tigers, and bears, it made us unique. You know what else made us unique? Me. The 62 pound quarterback who ran on every single play and led the league with 84 touchdowns in 12 games. The one who routinely carried 3-4 defenders twice his size to the endzone on his back because he just didn’t want to get tackled. But defense was my first love. Back then most teams didn’t pass much so I would just load up on the line of scrimmage and try to blow through the A-Gap as fast as possible, and 9 times out of 10 it usually worked. By 7 years old I was forced to play 4 levels up and was still dominating on a weekly basis. The high school coaches at Skyline had been sneaking me playbooks since 6th grade making sure I was becoming as much of a student of the game as a raw athlete. And that love of breaking down the film and the playcalls of the opposition was what brought me to that special moment I started the story with.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]///[/div]
I had been studying the Austin Westlake film for months. They had won 3 straight state titles coming into the game, so it seemed like a lock that if we were going to make it, we’d have to go through them. And that’s how I knew the play action was coming. 93% of the time over the last 3 championship seasons, Westlake ran the ball on 3rd and 1. But 3rd and 2 was different. On 3rd and 2 that number dropped drastically to only 61%. On 3rd and 2 Westlake loved the PA. They would throw it all over the field and it usually resulted in a major gain that often times clinched a game in the dying moments. But there was one catch. Anytime the ball was faked to the fullback, it almost always meant the halfback was coming out of the backfield and would have a prime matchup on a slow and oversized linebacker. Recognizing this instantly, “I stood my ground and didn’t bite on the post route coming into my zone. Instead I crept toward the sideline and as soon as the ball was released I pounced....”
The beauty of the play was that as I watched the ball into my hands, I also was able to see the eyes of the quarterback light up like miniature full-moons with confusion as I made the catch. I waltzed into the endzone untouched. (No like, I legit waltzed.. 1-2-3 1-2-3..) There were only a few seconds left now, but the game was out of reach. We did it. We were State Champions.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]///[/div]
After about an hour of celebrating with my teammates, I was told that someone wanted to talk to me and that they had called my Coach’s cell phone directly. At first, I assumed it would be one of the numerous colleges who were lined up and ready to offer me a scholarship. Instead, they said they were a commissioner of a simulation football league and that they couldn’t wait to see me lining up for one of their squads after college was done. At first I thought it was strange. But now I can’t believe it’s finally here. In just a few short days, I’ll be donning the jersey of a DSFL team and on the road to becoming the most highly sought-after member of the season 21 draft class. Never in a million years would I have dreamed that a boy from the Grove could have an opportunity like this. It’s completely unbelievable. Completely crazy. You might even call it...InsaniTEA.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Herb Altee /// S S20 DSFL Rookie[/div]
![[Image: HpuRUIY.png]](https://i.imgur.com/HpuRUIY.png)
