I'm feeling Jason Carter.
Anyone who has spent any time in the Jason Carter Sphere of Influence knows that the third-year coach of the La Jolla High football team lives and dies with each game.
This is not to make any statement about previous coaches of the Viking program, or any other coach.
But two things are different for me: One, I didn't have a blog before Carter began coaching at LJHS two years ago. Two, at one of the first Viking football scrimmages at Parker, Carter stopped, turned and greeted me by name, "Ed", with a handshake, and from that moment allowed me a window into his program.
I covered most of La Jolla's games that season for the La Jolla Light. Those stories provided an impetus for me to check in either before or after each game with the head coach and hear what he was thinking. I started my blog midway through that school year.
My point for this column: Carter has been riding a roller coaster during the first three games this season. In the opener, La Jolla defeated Country Day, where Carter had been offensive coordinator, handily. But since then, the Vikes--at times short-handed--have suffered two blowout losses, first at the hands of crosstown rival Bishop's, which is the defending CIF Division IV champion, and then most recently, Fallbrook on Fri., Sept. 11. Each of the two losses ended with a running clock.
A coach's work is so public: The score of each game is displayed on the stadium scoreboard, published in the newspaper, posted on websites, and discussed around the water cooler.
On 9/11, Carter said something I had not heard from him before: As I sat in my chair near the end zone at University City High before the latest game, resting my feet prior to the kickoff against the Warriors, the coach walked by. I called out, "Good luck, Coach." He replied, "We're going to need it."
Ouch.
I had never heard him say that in my two years plus three games covering his team from the sidelines. Which is why I said at the outset, I'm feeling him.
He has not kept me away from him. He has not hid his feelings. Sometimes he makes brash predictions about his individual players. But he has always been willing to answer questions.
I worry about him a little, this man who welcomed me to cover the program and even hang out with the team during ankle-taping before formal warm-ups (that was before the game against Kearny at Madison two years ago). He said Friday that he had been up since 4 a.m., and I think, 2 a.m. the day before.
He is a coach who coaches from emotion. And I would guess that's how he played, too--through a career as quarterback and receiver in high school, then college at Texas A&M, finally as a receiver in the NFL. My own experience as a leader--school teacher and other roles--has taught me that riding too high a wave, arriving at the event after little sleep the night before, having done a steady drain of what energy one does have for many hours before the event is a tough way to carry out my duties. It's easy to crash and burn.
One's perspective is definitely affected by riding adrenaline. A lack of restfulness can contribute to an edginess and skewed emotions, and sometimes over-reaction.
The kids are a precious commodity. I know Jason Carter knows that. I just sometimes wish he didn't lead so much from emotion. But that's probably his strength. From the day he first set foot on the La Jolla High campus, that's the way he's done it. He has built up enthusiasm where there had been a lot of concern. In his going ahead and having the walls knocked out to reconstruct the weight room, he symbolically broke down limits on what people thought LJHS football could be after several down years.
There are going to be rough patches, and this is one of them. The Vikings have gone from record-breaking passing and receiving numbers the first two seasons, to a struggle in games two and three this season. It was bound to happen after losing so many seniors who starred, first, as juniors in Carter's first group in 2013, then got even better last year.
I like Jason Carter for his leadership and the humanity he shows to his players. I believe he cares a lot for the young men in his program. He invests a ton of time in them--as do other coaches.
The difference for me is that he has allowed me a glimpse into him personally, and into his program in general. I respect that access and am thankful for it. I only want the best for him, his staff, and the players as his program moves into week four of this young season.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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