The second night of practice for the Southern Arizona All-Star Football Showcase, which will kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Tucson High, had a feeling of business as usual — something the coaches and players needed coming off a season that was cut short because of COVID-19 protocols.
That was until after practice wrapped up and former Sahuaro standout, Arizona football great, and current Tanque Verde head coach Jay Dobyns gave a powerful and emotional speech about his near-death experience just four days into his career as a federal agent.
“I’m laying there and I’m dieing in my own blood, and all of those lessons that coaches had taught me playing football started coming back,” said Dobyns. “Hey man, life’s not fair, yeah no (expletive) this wasn’t fair – this wasn’t fair after four days.
“You know who cares about what’s fair or not fair? Nobody.”
From the audible reaction and cheering of the players when Dobyns finished speaking, it felt as if they had fully embraced the idea that life is precious, and just being able to compete and grow with some of the best coaches and talent in Southern Arizona was a blessing.
Though the pandemic robbed the players of a chance to play a full season last fall, with some not playing more than two or three games following the Phase I and II protocol restrictions, they still have their lives and their careers ahead of them after the All-Star showcase.
The following are some sights and sounds of the second day of practice.
CDO head coach Dustin Peace:
Sahuaro head coach Scott Mckee:
Walden Grove DT Sebastian Adamski:
Cienega WR Caleb Kidney:
CDO QB Montana Neustadter:
Tanque Verde RB Dillon Simmers:
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com writing intern Kevin Murphy was born and raised in Tucson, and has followed Arizona Wildcats athletics since childhood. He has an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts from Pima Community College where he wrote for the Pima Post (formerly the Aztec Press). He is currently attending the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU where he is working towards a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and Media Studies.
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