Football practice is tough, at any level.

We've got 3-year-old Ella in a Greendale Rec. Department class called "Sporties for Shorties." Whoever came up with that name should get an award. How funny.

The class is a half hour at one of the elementary school gyms. Each week the kids learn a new sport. Week one was soccer. Week two was football.

As in week one, the kids begin with a warm up. Some walking, some running, some stretching. Activity number two was a kiddie version of the tire drill. You know... the one you see running backs do where they run through a set of side-by-side tires.

So all the kids are doing it and having a good enough time. Ella hits the hoops and is going along quite well, until she stopped in the middle. "Hey," she quipped, "I thought we were supposed to play football."

Funny, I recall thinking about the same thing at my first real football practice. Hey... this hurts and it's not nearly as much fun as when we played on the playground. When do I get to go deep?

No pain, no gain kid. Now hit those hoops again. Pick 'em up and put 'em down. Let's go! Let's go!

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