The 2006 Maxpreps USA Football Road Tour has officially come to a close. The RV has been unwrapped and Chris and I are back home in good old Placerville, California for the holidays.
As much as I tried to soak up all the memories for the past four months, I think the Road Tour will always be something I look back on in disbelief and say "I can't believe that really happened". We have seen high school football in an incredibly unique way and depth that has never been done by anyone else in human history. Anytime you can say you were the first to do something, you basically have bragging rights for life. If anyone else has driven an RV 23,000 miles to watch high school football with a buddy who sings every song on the radio for four months straight, let me know.
Joking aside, I think the most significant thing I will remember about this experience is the incredible force for good that high school football, and sports in general, have the potential to be. High school athletics have become much more to me than something that kids do for a few hours after school. I honestly believe that what kids are learning out on the field or in the gym is as important as what takes place in the classroom. While success in the classroom should always remain the top priority, the coaches around the country have as much of a vital role as anybody outside the home, to mold and shape their athletes into the people they will become. From what I can see after traveling around the country, it looks like coaches are doing a great job of helping kids stay on the right track in a world that desperately needs it.