Whether his number is called or not, Woods will be in the right place
St. Pius freshman has grown up around the game
Staff writer
Truth be told, Jake Woods never had a choice.He was going to be a football player. The game was part of the gene pool. His older brother played, his dad coaches.
Now, at last, Jake will follow in their footsteps. No questions asked.
Woods, a freshman at St. Pius X where his father, Jerry Woods, is the head coach, has been around football for as long as he can remember, which, considering he is only 14, is not all that long.
Friday, a new chapter in the family football story begins. Woods will be in uniform for the Lancers' season opener against Principia. It will be his first high school game.
Rostered as a 5-foot-4, 125-pound wide out and defensive back, Woods likely will spend more time watching than playing Friday. There's a chance the freshman will spend all of the opener on the sidelines.
Woods is not bothered by the prospect of being stuck temporarily on the sidelines. He has a lot of opening nights in his future. He intends to enjoy them all - even this one, even if his on-field time is limited to warmups.
"Even if I don't play, I'll still love it," he says of this week's first game. "It's exciting. It's the best sport there is to play."
Woods got a taste of opening night fun last week when St. Pius played in its jamboree. St. Pius and jamboree partners Crystal City, Grandview and St. Vincent give one-third of their scrimmage plays to their junior varsity teams, and during Friday's JV session Woods caught a pass, shrugged off a tackle and went 10 yards.
"He was pretty excited," says his father.
Woods has signed on for almost every youth sport there is over the years. A try-it-all athlete, he showed a knack for soccer and was the kind of player who could watch over center field or come in and play shortstop in baseball. There was a jolt to playing both sports. But they were nothing like football, nothing at all like football.
"Football is my favorite, no doubt," he says.
Woods played in his first organized football game at age six or seven in a flag football league. After moving to the area a couple years ago, he played full-contact ball in a couple youth leagues. He had the time of his life.
"I wish I had played earlier," he says.
Woods has been part of the opening night swirl in the past. He was on the sidelines the last two seasons as a ball boy for the Lancers.
He says the ball-boy seasons were different than this year. Win or lose, he was there with a sideline full of big brother-type buddies. This time around, as a player, he has more invested. Winning was nice in the past, it is important now.
"I don't like to lose," he says.
He is competitive, but not silly competitive
"I probably wouldn't punch any walls, but if we lose I'll think about what we could've done different," he says.
That is a lesson his father wants to make to all his new players (and, maybe, to a few of his more experienced ones, too).
"Our No. 1 thing is to put out good citizens, and our second thing is to win some games," he says.
Friday's opener will be a thrill for Woods. It won't be like the jamboree. Or like being a ball boy. Or playing junior football or flag football.
This will be different. The uniform will be clean, the helmets shiny, the lights bright, the crowd noisy. And the game will be different than any he's seen or played.
Woods always knew he'd be there on opening night. He never had a choice - but, when it came to football, he never wanted a choice.
"Being around here on Friday night, I love it," he says. "It's great."
