Fred Bowen - Quarterback Season

First day of school. Im glad Im finaly in 8th grade bc its fun being in the oldest class at Parkside middle. But I cant believe it. We already have homework in english class. We have to keep a journal. 3 entries a week. For the whole semester! I dont even like writing thank you notes to my grandparents. Now I have to write something 3 times a week and im not even getting a gift.

Okay, thats my first entry.

After school today I went to North Park to practice throwing passes to my best freind, Brandon Gonzalez. Tryouts for the Parkside football team are next week! Im sure Coach Mack is going to pick me to be the starting QB bc I was the backup last year. Brandon will definately start at wide receiver. We are totally pumped about football!!!

I dont know what I should write about today. Nothing really happened except my dog Elway threw up on my dads shoes this morning and my dad yelled at me for giving Elway mashed potatos last night at dinner. How could I know the potatos were going to come out of the wrong end?

OK, thats 3 entries.

Date: Sunday, September 5

To:

Matt

Get serious! You can do so much better than this. Your journal entries are much too short and have several careless errors, including misspelled words. You will be marked down for both. Each entry should be at least two paragraphs. Next time, include the dates, dont take shortcuts, and pay more attention to spellcheck! It also wouldnt hurt to check over your entries before you send them.

I can tell that you love football because you talk about it with such enthusiasm. I think football is a great subject for your journal. Why dont you begin with tryouts and then describe the season as it goes along?

If you can talk about football with enthusiasm, you can write about football with enthusiasm.

Ms. Samantha Ignacio
English Department
Parkside Middle School

Write what makes you happy.
O. Henry

Paragraph 1.

Okay, my journal can be all about football. That should be more fun than writing thank you notes, but its still writing. It will be all about football, but without the misspellings and stuff. (Really, Ms. Ig.)

Paragraph 2.

Today was the first day of tryouts. Coach Mack made everybody run a mile around the track and timed us. I came in seventh out of fifty kids. Thats pretty good. Brandon was better. He came in second. Thats okay, though. He should be faster than me. Hes a wide receiver. The fastest kid on the team was a seventh grader named Devro. Some kids think he might be the starting quarterback this season. Give me a break! If hes so fast, he should be a running back or a wide receiver. Or run really fast to some other school that needs a quarterback.

Second day of tryouts. Coach Mack says nobody is going to get cut from the team, so were just trying out for positions. Lots of kids want to be the quarterback, but most of them stink. Some of those guys couldnt throw a wad of paper into a recycling bin if they were standing right next to it.

Paragraph 2

I was awesome during quarterback drills. I hit all the receivers right in the hands, even on the long fly patterns. Coach decided to keep four players at quarterback. Of course, Im one of them. Two othersAndre Wilson and Russell Parkerare eighth graders like me. The last one is that new kid, Devro. Im not worried. I can beat out all those guys.

Paragraph 1

We had practice again today. We did a bunch of exercises and stuff.

Paragraph 2

Coach still hasnt decided whos going to be the starting quarterback. Devro is getting annoying. Hes always clapping his hands and trying to pump everybody up. He acts likes hes already the starting quarterback. Maybe he doesnt understand that Im going to be the starting QB.

Date: Thursday, September 9

To:

Matt

You are a very good student; your journal should be much better. Remember, the journal is an important part (25%) of the first-quarter grade. Im sure I dont need to remind you that you cant play football unless you pass all your subjects.

Please rewrite your journal entries for the first two days of tryouts and send them to me tomorrow. Please include more details this time. Keep in mind that I am not a football fan. Youll need to explain football terms such as fly pattern.

I told you earlier that journal entries must be at least two paragraphs, but I expect a good student like you to write more. Do not number your paragraphs and please spell out the date of each entry.

Talk to me after class if you have any questions.

Ms. Samantha Ignacio
English Department
Parkside Middle School

The best writing is rewriting.
E. B. White

Football tryouts have started and Coach Mack is working us hard.

First, he made everybody run a milethats four laps around the trackand timed us. The mile wasnt that tough because we were wearing sweatpants and T-shirts, not full football gear. Brandon and I have been running all summer. My buddy, Colby Johnson, has been running with us too. So we were ready. Colby is our best offensive lineman, but hes not as fast as Brandon or me.

Our times for the mile were:

Brandon5:54 (5 minutes and 54 seconds)

Me (Matt)6:15

Colby6:58

I came in seventh out of fifty kids trying out. Brandon came in second and Greg finished in the middle of the pack. The kid who came in first is some seventh grader named Devro Beech. Hes really fast. And really annoying.

Next, Coach made us do a bunch of calisthenicsjumping jacks, push-ups, toe touches, and all sorts of sprints. We were sweating like pigs. The hardest things were the leg lifts. They were brutal. We had to lift our legs up, spread them, put them back together, and then let them down slowly. Leg lifts are supposed to toughen up your stomach muscles, but I thought my legs were going to fall off.