The Middle School Rules of Brian Urlacher E-Book

Sean Jensen

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 108

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

For more than a decade, Brian Urlacher was the face of the Chicago Bears—one of the NFL's most storied franchises. An eight-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker, Urlacher established himself as one of the league's preeminent defenders with his athleticism, intelligence and ferocity. He is widely expected to gain entrance into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he is eligible in a few years which is not bad for an athlete from Lovington, New Mexico, where his coaches did not even see college potential in him until his junior year of high school.  The Middle School Rules of Brian Urlacher features the real-life childhood stories and exploits of young Brian Urlacher and illustrate how they shaped him into the world-class athlete he became. The first of The Middle School Rules series, these books not only entertain, but also inspire greatness in the next generation by highlighting the importance of being your best, overcoming adversity, and reaching your dreams through discipline and hard work.

Leseprobe

 

BroadStreet Publishing Group LLCRacine, Wisconsin, USAwww.broadstreetpublishing.com

The Middle School Rules of Brian Urlacher

© 2015 Brian Urlacher and Sean Jensen

ISBN 978-1-4245-4979-5 (hard cover)ISBN 978-1-4245-5010-4 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Brian Urlacher is represented by Bryce Karger and Brenda Lundberg-Casey of Image Athlete Marketing.

Photograph of Brian Urlacher provided by The Chicago Bears. All rights reserved.

Illustrated by Max Smith

Cover and interior design by Garborg Design Works | garborgdesign.com

Editorial services provided by Ginger Garrett | gingergarrett.com

and Michelle Winger | literallyprecise.com

Printed in China

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FOREWORD

It was the 1992 football season, and I was in my second season as the head coach at Lovington High School. I decided to go to a junior high game on a Thursday. I don’t remember the opponent, but I do remember a scraggly freshman catching a long touchdown pass.

It wasn’t that spectacular of a catch, probably like ones you’ve seen caught by typical 15-year-olds. This kid was like a hundred other young football players I had seen. I had heard he was a little taller and faster than average, but nothing really outstanding. Heck, I could barely pronounce his last name!

Brian URLACHER.

I didn’t know how this young man would impact my life. He went from a scrawny ninth grader to the ninth overall pick in the NFL Draft in 2000—making spectacular plays along the way.

I’ve been asked a lot, “When did you know Urlacher was going to be an NFL star?”

I didn’t.

But Brian had the characteristics it takes to succeed at the highest levels—characteristics you’ll read about in this book. Brian developed physically, but his personal qualities are what also drove him to be a future Hall of Famer. He had work ethic, commitment, dedication, perseverance, and humility.

You can develop these same characteristics. A circle of support can help guide you, but ultimately it is up to you. Every young person who reads this book possesses the qualities Brian had. With a little help, you can achieve more than you think is possible.

I have often said the football field is a modern day “rites of passage,” where boys become men. I’m proud to have been a small part of that development in Brian. I admire the incredible man he has become—on and off the field. His love for his family is unsurpassed. His dedication to his children is unequivocal. His generosity to his friends and community is undeniable. His commitment to his teammates is unwavering.

Brian came from good stock. His mother, Lavoyda, was a special parent. She sacrificed to make sure Sheri, Brian, and Casey were taken care of. I liken Brian to one of my favorite quotes by Frank Lloyd Wright, “No stream rises higher than its source.”

Brian rose high—a tribute to a mother’s love and sacrifice.

Enjoy the book. Learn about Brian, his friends, and his family. But mostly, learn about yourself.

Coach Speedy Faith

Lovington High School

Dear Reader,

Thanks for picking up my story.

Looking back, I didn’t spend much time thinking about what I didn’t have, or what I couldn’t do.

I learned that from my mother.

She often said two things: “Get it done,” and “Don’t make excuses.”

That’s how I live and that’s how I want my kids to live.

Whatever your circumstances, I hope you focus on the positives in your life and not the negatives.

Best wishes,

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Finding His way

Chapter 2: Lovington

Chapter 3: Sibling Rivalry

Chapter 4: Ruling the Roost

Chapter 5: Football Debut

Chapter 6: Father Figure

Chapter 7: Struggling in Football

Chapter 8: Riding the Pine

Chapter 9: Working for More

Chapter 10: The Close Call

Chapter 11: We Are the Champions!

Chapter 12: Getting Into the Game

Chapter 13: Early Morning Workouts

Chapter 14: “Where’s Brian?”

Chapter 15: Turning the Corner

Chapter 16: Principal Karger

Chapter 17: Dealing With a Tough Loss

Chapter 18: The Wildcats Face a Powerhouse Program

Chapter 19: Seeing Stardom

Chapter 20: Brian Has To Step Up in Basketball

Chapter 21: Summer Shape

Chapter 22: Brian Breaks Out

Chapter 23: No Cheap Shots

Chapter 24: The Injury

Chapter 25: Playing Through Pain

Chapter 26: Surprising Run

Chapter 27: Not Feeling the Love

Chapter 28: Encouragement from Big Sis

Chapter 29: Indispensable Brian

Chapter 30: Putting It All Together

Chapter 31: The Big Game

Chapter 32: Brandon Steps In

Chapter 33: Championship Moment

Epilogue

  Chapter 1  

Finding His Way

In sixth grade, Brian Urlacher was shy and small, just a kid trying to fit in at Taylor Middle School in Lovington, New Mexico. Brian tried to stay out of trouble…until trouble found him.

Charles was one of his best buddies in elementary school, but he was annoyed at Brian. Brian couldn’t figure out why, but that didn’t matter in sixth grade.

So once the final school bell rang at 3:10 p.m., Brian bolted for home—with Charles in hot pursuit. Brian didn’t like confrontation, let alone with Charles who was bigger and had facial hair!

I don’t know how to fight, Brian thought. I just want to get home.

He zigzagged through the neighborhood—sticking close to 11th Street—toward his house on Avenue M about ten blocks south of the school. When Brian got home, panting and sweating, he slammed the front door shut and made a beeline for his bedroom.

After four or five days, Charles stopped chasing Brian home. Charles never told Brian why he was mad, but Brian realized middle school rules don’t always make sense.

Later in the school year, Brian knew exactly what set another kid off.

Brian and Ty were on the same basketball team, and Brian thought Ty was being a ball hog.

“Pass the ball! Pass the ball!” his teammates shouted.

They got smoked in a game to 21.

After the loss, Brian complained, “Maybe if someone wasn’t playing one on five, we could have actually made it a game.”

Ty, who had a reputation for being tough, didn’t want to hear it. In the locker room, he climbed on top of Brian and punched him on the side of his head. Brian didn’t want to fight, but he also didn’t want to get hurt. He didn’t know any karate and he didn’t know how to box, so he did what came naturally: Brian pushed Ty off and then tackled him.

The force of Brian’s tackle knocked the wind out of Ty, who fell hard to the locker room floor. Just then, Mr. Dobbs entered and separated the boys. He sent both Ty and Brian to detention!

“But he started it!” Brian protested.

Didn’t matter.

Brian had always stayed out of trouble, and he didn’t know how his mother would react. But at dinnertime when they talked about the scuffle, she wasn’t mad at him.

“I don’t want you kids starting fights,” Brian’s mother said, “but sometimes you have to end them.”

The best part of sixth grade for Brian was finding his best friend, Brandon. The relationship was forged during lunchtime. After they ate, along with other boys, Brian and Brandon would play basketball or football, often against each other.

Basketball was their favorite sport. And while Brian was good, Brandon was great.

Even before Brian knew him, he recalled Brandon starring in Little Dribblers, the local rec program. Brandon was quick, he could shoot threes…and he could dribble the ball with both hands! Plus, his uncle was Chief Bridgforth, the head coach of the high school varsity team.

Brandon had it made.

Being cooped up in a house playing video games and watching TV wasn’t their thing. Brian and Brandon liked to ride their bikes all over town, exploring, looking for games, or having a home run derby in the street.

But their absolute favorite thing was playing basketball at Ben Alexander Elementary School—just a long football toss from Lovington High School.

They really liked the eight-foot-high rims.

Brian, Brandon, and other boys from the neighborhood would play full-court games, pretending to be “Like Mike,” flying through the air for majestic dunks like the Chicago Bulls superstar.

There were so many players at Ben Alexander that a team was always waiting to play the winner.

Pretty much everyone could dunk, so they’d often get cuts on their fingers.

“Look at mine,” someone would boast afterwards.

“Ewwww!” everyone else would yell.

The boys would all wear bandages to school, but they always returned the next day.

The games sometimes got rough, usually between Brian and his little brother Casey, but there was one rule: Don’t break or bend the rims. That wasn’t a problem for the regulars; it was the visitors who would go too far and dunk with too much force.

The boys didn’t know who maintained the court which was next to a playground; they just knew someone regularly replaced the nets.

But a broken or bent rim? That could take weeks to fix. They learned this the hard way, when Jimmy’s cousin from Lubbock got too excited. He went up in the air like he was Charles Barkley, slamming the ball through the hoop…and tearing it all up.

But who was going to say something to Jimmy’s cousin? He was bigger than everyone. None of the boys had the nerve to yell at him, so they nervously laughed—and they all went home early that day.

The imaginary season continued weeks later.

Brian was the star of the Mavericks, Brandon the star of the Rockets. And because Brian didn’t like to play with his little brother Casey, he often played against him. Casey was a good player, and one of them would get too rough defending the other, then they’d start pushing and shoving until Brandon broke it up.

“Come on, guys! Do we have to do this every time?”

They’d play hoops for hours and hours, and when the streetlights turned on, they’d hop on their bikes and ride home.

Brian didn’t have a handle on middle school yet. But he was thankful that Lovington was safe enough for him to play until dark.

  Chapter 2  

Lovington

Brian was born on May 25, 1978, in Pasco, Washington. Brian’s mother, Lavoyda, married Brad Urlacher when she was very young, and they had Sheri, Brian, and Casey, in that order. About a year separated Sheri from Brian and Brian from Casey.

Brian was seven when his parents divorced in the winter of 1985, and he and his brother and sister moved to Lovington, in southeastern New Mexico. He was sad and nervous, but it helped that his mom’s parents lived in a nearby town.

Lovington was named after the first storefront there, the Jim B. Love Grocery Store, which was built in 1908. Most parents worked in farming, ranching, or oil drilling.

Lovington had about nine thousand people and was mostly middle-class, which meant not too many people drove fancy cars—especially the cars from Germany or Italy. It was the sort of town where everyone knew everyone, so the high school kids didn’t bother trying to get into R-rated movies because someone at the theater would know their actual age.

Brian’s grandparents weren’t very far away, but he noticed his mother didn’t ask for their help much. Brian’s mother worked at least two jobs, neither of them high paying or glamorous, to support her family. Brian’s family bounced around at first, sometimes living in trailers or apartments, moving when Lavoyda could find a cheaper place to rent.

Back-to-school shopping was easy.

They’d head to Walmart or Kmart in neighboring towns, where Brian, Casey, and Sheri each got to pick out one pair of shoes, two pair of pants, and a couple of shirts. They couldn’t afford to shop at the department store Bealls on Avenue D, near the tall white water tower that read, “Lovington Wildcats.”

Bealls had brand names; they had to pick no names.

The boys didn’t know it, but their Aunt Dena would take Sheri on a separate shopping trip and get her some extra clothes and shoes.

Not that they ever noticed.

Brian and Casey didn’t care about clothes. They cared about sports and bike rides and made-up games. They invented Buck ‘Em Bronco, using a 55-gallon plastic drum and stringing four ropes to it attached with used car springs. One boy would climb on the plastic drum while the other frantically tried to knock him off.

It’s a wonder neither ever got hurt, but they’d do it until their arms were too exhausted to pull the ropes anymore.