Khalil’s Evolution of Social Media
For years the sport of football has helped me meet new
people and become a better person. When I started playing for the Inglewood
Jets it was foreign to me. Note that at the time when I first started playing flag
football in 2004 social media wasn’t around. Well at least it wasn’t used a lot
at all. So my first year was fun, we
went to the Super bowl and won. It is cool now that I think about it because we
had a team highlight tape on DVD. So you had to have a DVD player or a computer
that let you insert disk. On that team we were very close knit because it was
most of our first year playing football.
The next year I started playing tackle football, I was on a
different team and the only person I knew on my team was cousin Corey. I imagined
that it would be amazing to play with someone that I was always with. Unfortunately,
it was complete opposite, I didn’t play a lot at all. My parents felt some type
of way about because they knew that I was capable of. In addition to that the coaching
staff often had fights and verbal altercation at practice and even during the
games. At that time social media still wasn’t super popular.
TUCKMAN’S 5 STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
Here --- Forming
In 2007 I played for Jr. Clinic Black. It was my first year
playing under a new coach in Gary Bass. Word around the park was he was a great
coach who cared about his players a lot. So my parents placed me on his team
and it was a decision that will never be forgotten. This was just the forming
portion of Coach Bass and I relationship. At the time he was also the head coach
at Inglewood High School, where most of the kids that played for Inglewood pop
warner ended up attending. He would invite me to games with the team and let me
be the water boy/ ball boy for the games.
TUCKMAN’S 5 STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
Here --- Storming
Later that year we went to the Super bowl. It was amazing because
it was our first year together playing tackle football. We were 12-0 heading
into the super bowl. Everyone in our organization knew that we were one of the
best teams in the park. Every week when we played everybody came to the stadium
to watch us because we were that good. We won all of our regular season games
by 20 points or more. In the Super bowl we lost 12 to 6 in a very hard fought
game. This game was important because it built our friendship even strong. After
having to watch the other team receive their super bowl trophies Coach Bass came
up to me and gave me a hug. At the time I thought that the hug was just because
he was my coach. But it was deeper than that. This situation was a chance for
us to grow together, this quote relates to it, “here may be disagreements,
there may be mavericks, but it is through a process of communal involvement,
including all the controversies, that a body of knowledge is developed.” (Snyder)
TUCKMAN’S 5 STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
Here --- Norming
When I first got to High School I decided to not go to the
school that Coach Bass coached at. It was tough not having him around after he
had been my coach from 2007 all the way up until 2011. He would still come to
my games and kept a close relationship with my father and mother. Once it was
time for me to be recruited to play college football he was really biased
towards me going to his favorite team, USC Trojans. Growing up I was never a
big fan of the USC Trojans but because they were his favorite team I considered
it. Ultimately he helped me pick the University of Arizona. He played a pivotal
role in helping me realize the meaning of my decision. First he told me to pick
the school bases on if I didn’t play sports, how I would enjoy the campus life
and people.
TUCKMAN’S 5 STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
Here --- Performing
Once I committed to the University of Arizona and told Coach
Bass that I was graduating from High School early and going to college he was
so proud. When I made the decision to graduate from HS early he told me the
pros and cons of it. Luckily I had him help me make my decision. Even though
his favorite team is USC he still found a spot in his heart for it to be okay for
me to go to another school. When I started classes he would always call me to
check and see how I’m doing. He’s always been close to my family because the
way he carry’s’ himself. When my brother
was about to go off to college four years ago he came to the going away party.
From that action I knew that he truly does care about my family.
TUCKMAN’S 5 STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
Here --- Adjourning
While I have been in college Coach Bass has played a very
influential role in my life. For my fist ever collegiate football game I gave him
a ticket for the game at UCLA. Now I was supposed to be redshirting (meaning I
was initially not going to play that season) but didn’t. I eventually ended up
getting in the game and threw two touchdowns. Even though I didn’t play well,
and we lost it was exciting to know that he was there. Recently he, my mother
and father all went to the Los Angeles Chargers first home game in their new
city of Los Angeles. When I asked my mother what she was doing for the day and she
told me she was going to the game with some great seats. Coach Bass is from San
Diego so he has always been a long time Charger fan, so with the Chargers moving
to Los Angeles, son just getting married, and me doing well in school and also
on the field he is greatly satisfied.
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