Roman Acosta: Football One of the Greatest Team Sports and if not Thee Greatest Team Sport.

Roman Acosta: Hello Everybody this is Roman Acosta here, Staff writer for Talon Marks, and assistant football coach at John Glenn.

Roman Acosta: Today I am going to be talking about high school football in the community, from fans, players, coaches, and what football means to our community.

Roman Acosta: Norwalk is a decently populated town consisting of two high schools, John Glenn, and Norwalk.

Roman Acosta: For the most part, Norwalk High School has been historically the better football team.

Roman Acosta: Their Consistency […] Higher attendance is outmatched compared to Glenn.

[brief pause]

Roman Acosta: In 2018 and 2019, John Glenn beat Norwalk for the first time since 2002.

Roman Acosta: In a rivalry that’s been around since the mid-sixties, John Glenn has been typically the underdog each time, and Norwalk has been the more dominant force. Some people even wondered why it was still a rivalry, to begin with.

Roman Acosta: When the majority of John Glenn’s older players classes of 2018, 2019, and 2020 all graduated the program knew they had to start over and rebuild the next generation of football players to best represent the school and coaching staff.

Roman Acosta: I was a part of the class of 2019. Alongside a majority of other great players to come from that school in recent years.

Roman Acosta: As a player, I can remember the (0-10, 2-8, 5-5, and 6-4) seasons and what it took for us to establish a name for ourselves as well as the coaching staff at the time.

Roman Acosta: Times have changed now, a new coaching staff, and of course every year a new group of kids.

Roman Acosta: As I became a coach I realized what it felt like to join the other side that players don’t see.

Roman Acosta: Coaching on a different level plays a big role as well in high school.

Roman Acosta: These are young adults you are dealing with.

Roman Acosta: These arent your athletes in the pros making millions.

Roman Acosta: You really have to start from the bottom, understanding that the kids won’t move, and perform at the same intensity like they do in the pros.

Roman Acosta: Every one of those kids are unique in their own way and can contribute something to your program, and can teach you something new.

Roman Acosta: It’s important to understand that not everyone is born a natural athlete, so of course, it will take some time to develop them.

[slight pause…]

Roman Acosta: For spectators, Fans, and Alumni, consist of family and friends and sometimes even scouts looking for a player to add to their team.

Roman Acosta: Those who support you will be in attendance at the games, so it’s not the same pressure of being televised or broadcast on tv in front of a large group of ardi…

[mumbles to correct self]

Roman Acosta: audience who will criticize you based on your negative performance.

Roman Acosta: To the Norwalk community Football is a staple in the fall.

Roman Acosta: Most kids grow up watching the sport with their parents, loved ones and start to develop an interest in playing with the older kids in hopes of one day being in their shoes under the spotlight.

Roman Acosta: Norwalk high school of course is known for sending their players to colleges, universities, and even the NFL in terms of football.

[slight pause]

Roman Acosta: Football isn’t just good because it’s a sport and keeps kids healthy through exercise but it keeps them off the streets.

Roman Acosta: I’m starting to notice an increasing amount of unmotivated kids trying to get involved in gangs, use of drugs at early ages as well.

Roman Acosta: I believe Norwalk can be way better of Community if it increased involvement of youth sports decreasing the number of kids wandering on the streets in general.

Roman Acosta: Sports offer valuable lessons to our youth in this community, if we can teach kids responsibility and to be depended on by others they will become motivated (slight pause) towards making all those around them proud.

Roman Acosta: If I had the opportunity to change the city of Norwalk I would introduce more beneficial activities within the category of sports.

Roman Acosta: The things sports bring [stutters] to the table of opportunities towards all of us.

Roman Acosta: More coaching jobs, more athletes, more programs, and more opportunities for all by increasing the demand of people needed to officiate and coach these sports.

Roman Acosta: We have a [slight pause] community with the desire of helping our kids and young adults reach heights not everyone has been given the chance to at their youth.

Roman Acosta: Children are the future, we must call to action the desire for a better tomorrow through today.

Roman Acosta: Football can open the door to just that. Introducing pop warner teams that will welcome all and not discriminate anybody.

Roman Acosta: They can bring together the youth within the community if parents and guardians got their kids involved at an early age we would see more unity in our mid-sized community.

Roman Acosta: Everyone deserves the opportunity, although we are not the rich gated communities you see on TV, we posses the traits necessary to establish programs that can help benefit our kids.

Roman Acosta: I wish I could have had the opportunity at an earlier age to be involved in curricular activities that have benefited so many in the Norwalk community.

Roman Acosta: Easier accessible programs can lead the way towards success in a kid’s lifetime.

Roman Acosta: Not getting right with your teammates and coaches really leads to toxic traits, winning is not always the number one goal in high school of course encouraging athletes to recognize that they should feel the urge to compete and do better than what they were before is the goal.

Roman Acosta: The youth need a growth mindset that allows them to improve rather than settle, you have to be coachable, if you can get through that with them at an early age you can produce better players overall through your coaching the team.

[brief pause]

Roman Acosta: John Glenn high school is not typically known for its football as it is its baseball and wrestling throughout the years, for baseball and wrestling have had more consistent greater coaches.

Roman Acosta: As a player, no matter where you come from, you can shape your future through hard work and dedication. My football coach taught us just that, better than anybody.

Roman Acosta: When we come together with the mindset of winning we can accomplish anything through teamwork.

Roman Acosta: Winners win and losers lose.

[slight pause]

Roman Acosta: Those who decide to choose the path of bad choices are destined for failure and truly tough love at times between a player and coach, where a coach wants to see a player succeed.

Roman Acosta: As a player at the time, I can remember the times where I didnt make the best choices to benefit the success of the team, I never did drugs or hung out around gangs but an early age we all tend to make mistakes.

Roman Acosta: My senior year of high school we brought back our newspaper team. I fell in love with writing while being in football. My last assignment as a journalist in high school was to recommend advice for the next graduating class and future generations.

Roman Acosta: I wrote an article on how (slight pause) bringing more activities to John Glenn would make them just as good as other schools in the Norwalk community was a t… [stutters on words].

Roman Acosta: Norwalk high schools [stutters] attendance was twice the size of Glenns, there are many things you can say that will be good ideas for a better school to come.

Roman Acosta: Increased attendance and participation leads to success of kids and even programs within the Norwalk community.

Roman Acosta: School spirit: their students, fans, and alumni and staff bring attraction to your school. The identity and pride show. The closer you bring people together through sports the better people your school and team produces.

Roman Acosta: You have to take pride in what you represent, anybody can participate in sports whether it be for fun, competitiveness, and winning.

Roman Acosta: You can bring together a group of diverse people.

[slight pause]

Roman Acosta: That being said, if they can relate under one common goal, one interest, you can bring together a community.

Roman Acosta: The Covid-19 pandemic put a giant crater towards moving in a forward direction as a society.

[slight pause]

Roman Acosta: Where politicians point fingers and divide, I see sports as a way towards sportsmanship towards developing for a better tomorrow for all of us.

[slight pause]

Roman Acosta: If we bring more programs to the Norwalk community we can have (brief pause) more attendance through kids participation, lesser kids on the streets that will increase the amount of successful (brief hesitation) youth will have in the Norwalk community for time to come.

[slight pause]

Roman Acosta: Although I am only twenty years old, [hesitates] in my second season of coaching, I look around and see the next generation of kids still not as motivated as my age group was, and it’s really sad to see players lose interest, and athletes lose interest towards their school.

Roman Acosta: So that is why I recommend an increase in the amount of programs and opportunities introduced to the youth, to help bring unity together to the community.

Roman Acosta: Im Roman Acosta, this is my first podcast for Talon Marks regarding my take on sports, particularly football for the Norwalk community and how you can change the next generations to be motivated towards a better tomorrow.

Roman Acosta: With that being said, Im Roman Acosta signing off, and I hope to speak with you all again next time.

Roman Acosta: Thank you.

[Podcast Ends].