A Promotion on The Horizon

Gosh, It was so good to see Wil.

FUMA played Cosby High out of Chesterfield, Va and got punished in a big way. The score was 6-8 so it doesn't sound very exciting, but . . . They pushed each other up and down the field and came close to scoring so many times. There were roughing the kicker penalties and off sides so many times I lost count and sacking the QB and so many fumbles and on and on. FUMA had to play harder than they have ever played before. 2nd and 3rd string never showed their faces on the field. Now, FUMA has a great chance to really improve. The holes in their game were ever present yesterday (point conversions, throwing too low and not far enough in the snap) but all in all they played well. I'm really looking forward to next weeks game in Charlottesville. Here's to great improvement!

After the game we had thirty minutes with Wil. We had a picnic out of the back of the car, Dad got to go and see Wil's room on the 2nd floor in Charlie company and we got to meet Wil's biology teacher as he was passing by. We talked about school, he's got a solid B in Biology and found out that at last night's Commandant's Corner, Wil could be getting Rank Advancement to Laundry Guy (don't know the real title). He said that's the first step up the ladder. Woo Hoo for Wil. And, for the young man who could "sleep 'til noon", he's now getting up at 5.30 a.m. to shine his shoes and make his bunk and prepare for the day. 1st call is at 5.55 a.m.



Continue to pray for Wil. As much as football has been fun, school there is hard work. Everything you do is judged and assessed - EVERYTHING. Walking across campus, saluting the flag in the circle, the shine on your shoes, hands in your pockets, shaving, spots on your clothes, moving while in formation - EVERYTHING ("this school has lots of stupid rules"). It's hard living under a microscope for short periods of time and he lives it 24/7. Of course, He hasn't gotten a single demerit! Yea!

We have been blessed to have this weekly time with Wil. He will be getting phone and e-mail privileges this weekend so hopefully he can reach out to everyone else more often. He says he doesn't have that much free time but the use of the computer may help his communication skills.

We will send out a phone schedule (remember, he has to call you back) and his e-mail address as soon as we get it.

On a Scale of 1 to 10, He's an 8!!!

The Blue Devils had another FANTASTIC game yesterday. They whomped Hargrave Military Academy 26-0. GO TEAM. Wil played and did a great job. His opponent was again a head taller and didn't crouch during the snap so Wil had this huge guy standing, with his left hip toward him... Wil did not let him gain an inch - ever.

After the game we had about twenty minutes with him before he had to go to the Chapel for the Commandants Corner. "That's where he yells at us about all the stuff we're not doing right." I asked him on a scale of one to ten, one - being you want to die and ten - being the best thing that you've ever had or done in your whole life, "How do you like school?", and he said an eight! WOW! Then I asked if he thought it was because we have always been so strict with him and he said absolutely. He said there are guys there who have no idea what discipline means and there are some real goof offs.

We also feel that this is real freedom for Wil compared to being at home. Yes, he has all the trappings of school and the military lifestyle But, he also has an allowance (which has been straightened out) that he can go and spend anytime he wants, he has a great t.v. and cable IN HIS ROOM and he has this huge boys club, just outside his barracks bunk, that he decides when, if and how much he wants to participate in.

I have to tell you he looks great. He was so eager to show off how to stand at attention and parade rest. The following pictures are of Wil at play (#70) Wil in uniform and at attention. There is also a picture of his barracks and Wil marching to Chapel. Enjoy.

FUMA Blue Devils vs. Orange County Hornets

Fork Union Jr. Prep played the Hornets of Orange County High School last week (9/7) and won 20 - 0. Not bad for their first game. I spoke with Coach Hooper after the game and he said that FUMA had better team speed than Orange County. We had #19 and they had #24. Young, fast guys who dominate and carry the ball a lot. As a team, FUMA played better, which is what won the game for them. You can read the game report on the FUMA website.


Wil is #70 in the pictures. We didn't think that he would be able to play becuase of his shin splints, but the coaches put him in at the end of the 4th quarter on Defense and he got 7 plays. He did exceptionally well defending against a taller opponent and did not give up any ground.



Mom and Maggie made home baked cookies for the team. We gave him his weekly goodie box, some more Gatorade, lots of letters and a special LCD TV for his room. His room has now become the destination for quality cable t.v. viewing. He's still struggling with making his allowance last the whole week but as the commandant said " you get three squares - what more do you need". Between our goodie boxes and his allowance he should be doing fine . . .

It continues to be a breath of fresh air getting to see Wil weekly. It's still very hard not being able to talk with him but we are learning how to get along too. We love football.

Labor Day Weekend - Wil in Uniform

Wil had a great game on Thursday 9/7. The Jr. Prep team played Orange County High and won 20 - 0. I'll post pictures and a recap later this week. In the meantime, look at the following photos taken from Fork Union on 9/3. The cadets are in the football stands watching the Prep team (Jr.'s and Sr.'s) play Bridgewater. Fork Union won 29 - 0! The school photographer caught these photos of the cadets in the stands.

http://photos.forkunion.com/gallery/1863718

We Got Wil Mail

Wil Mail!

It can be heard through out the neigborhood as I get the letter, do a little happy dance and bring the rare and treasured item into the house.

Wil says he's doing o.k. "I hate the uniform, it's hot and it's heavy. And no of course not, we can't just shine our boots, we have to "spit shine" our boots. Other than that, I'm o.k.".

He's back to full pads and hitting and drills. No running more than five yard sprints in drives.
His first game is this Wednesday in Orange and if all goes well we'll all be there to see it.

Look for more photos and an update next week after the game.

Thursday August 24 Was A Great Day

Thursday August 24 was a great day - sort of.

Wil called home! Unfortunately we weren't there to get the call. He wanted to tell us that the scrimmage was on for Friday and that he wouldn't be playing but he would really appreciate it if we would come anyway. (as if we wouldn't)

Now you might be asking why weren't we home at 8.30 at night to get a call from Wil? Well, I would answer, it's because we were in the emergency room with Charlie preparing for an emergency appendectomy. That's why it was a great day. God got us in the right time to the right hospital and the right doctors and Charlie is now appendix-less, but very healthy and doing great, but I get ahead of my self.

So, here we are in the emergency room checking voice mails and we get the most pitiful sounding message from Wil that it makes his dad cry "but, why isn't he playing, is he alright?"

Soooo, while we waited on test results I was busily trying to get into the phone in the coaches office to inquire about Wil and to let him know about Charlie And to see if maybe Wil could come home to see his brother. Again, it was a great day. I was able to get through (the phones are on for only 30 mins for cadets to inform thair parents of the scrimmage) I actually got to speak to a coach and indeed Wil can come home after the scrimmage on Friday. Yea!


So, Wil didn't play in the scrimmage. He has suffered shin splints in his left leg and a bum right knee. They are painful but he will heal. Wil came home with his sister and dad after the scrimmage. They stopped at McDonald's and Wil said it tastes like Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

Charlie was so glad to see him. Charlie got into mom and dads bed where Maggie and Will joined him so they could see each other and catch up. It was great to see them all together. We had a barbecue at the house on Sat afternoon so the neighbors could come and see Wil and wish Charlie well.

It was good to see Wil and touch him and love on him. It was hard to have him away and be hurt but I got to see him and encourage him in person so taking him back on Sunday first thing in the morning wasn't so bad.

It was a great day indeed.

Wil's First Week on The Line

At 5'9"/200 lbs, the Jr. Prep squad coaches selected Wil to play both the "O-Line" and the"D-Line" (as the players call it). FUMA played a scrimage against Amherst yesterday (Sat 8/19) - FUMA is in white; Wil is the lineman #61 - in the middle, leaning over with his hand not yet on the ground.

Their team got soundly beaten in this scrimage, but they also showed some good team play. Wil made several good blocks off the line and pushed around one of the Amherst boys who was bigger than him. His immediate challenge will be to not only learn his position, but to learn the game. For instance; on defense, he came off the snap and blocked well, but didn't pay attention to the ball movement and move into tackling mode - he just kept blocking his man! For his first organized football scrimage after only 5 days of practice, I would rate his performance as an A. He hustled on the field, played his position, listened to his coaches and had a great attitude.

The Amherst HS football boosters hosted a lunch of Subway sandwiches for the players after the game and I got to visit with Wil for the first time since we dropped him off on Sunday 8/13 (after the game they got to take showers and change into their athletics).

He looked great, felt great, sounded great, was smiling and said he was having a good time. He had the usual list of gripes; the food s*cks, some of the kids are annonying, there's nothing to do in their free time - "Dad are you going to send me a TV? ... and a laptop? I really need one."


As you can see from the photo above, we ate lunch tailgate style. One of his new friends (I forgot his name) is from Richmond. He got a concussion on Friday and had a mountain-sized headache and didn't play. The bummer was that his parents didn't come to the game. I asked him if he'd like to call them and hardly finished my sentence before his eyes lit up and he said "Yes".

Wil got to talk to his Mom on the phone - and he got to listen to voice messages from his Mom and Maggie. We gave him a case of Gatorade and a new care package with some beef jerkey, chocolates from Maggie and Charlie, short socks (his favorites) and two letters.

He said next week they were doing more conditioning and running - not his favorite things :(. The following week classes start (9/01) and they move from a casual environment to full military drill, rules, new barracks, permanent room and roommate, etc. Wil had a great 1st game and we had a good time visiting with one another. His spirits were good and although he was tired and a bit sore, I think he's making friends and having a good time.