Looking Back on Wildcat Football
A Dad’s Perspective
Published November 29 2006 by Joe Gleason
Mary Margaret, Brady, and Joe Gleason at Sr. Night.
I will miss it. All of it. I’ve had three boys go through the Centreville
Varsity Football program. One or more of them have been sweating their way
through the workouts and the practices and the games for every year that
Mike Skinner has been head coach. Sometimes it wasn’t so pretty. At
others, it was glorious. But it was always what it was supposed to be: A
chance for our kids to test themselves, to find their potential, to commit
to something beyond themselves and to share in the successes and failures
of that endeavor.
Now they’re all done. None of my sons has chosen to play in college. There are many moments that I’ll carry with me from their experiences. The stunned look of joy on the face of my eldest as his team won the state championship over a better football team. The laughter my second son had at the expense of an upperclassman at Clemson when he was being hazed. “That’s the best you got?” he joked when his new fraternity brother got in his face. “You’ve got nothing on Coach Skinner.” And the smile of my youngest son Brady had when he played well in a position that the coaches didn’t think he was athletic enough to play. They all were challenged. They all succeeded. They all played well. They all grew strong both physically and in character. They made great friends. And they loved it.
Thank you Coach Skinner and Coach Hamilton and all the other coaches who have given so much to the program over all these years. I know my experience is no different than many other parents who have had kids going through the program. They don’t pay you guys enough. Like I said before, I will miss it. All of it.
Editors Note: Joe Gleason and his wife, Mary Margaret, have supported Centreville football for almost a decade. Their oldest son, Brady, will graduate this year. Their many contributions will be missed by all.
