Baby steps on the little league gridiron

Every once in a while, I get to devote a post to something personal, and today's post is one of those instances.

My grandson is playing in a 5th and 6th grade football league this season, and I got a chance to see him play Wednesday in Decatur Township in southwest Indianapolis.

His Speedway Majors Division team lost, 24-0, dropping its record to 1-2 for the season, but it was a nice night to photograph. The game started at 7:15 p.m. with some very dramatic lighting giving me interesting highlights for the first quarter and a half or so. The image leading off the post is a good example of that; it features Ricky (left) playing offense, lining up on the right side of the scrimmage line. He battled the Colts' No. 17, M. Johnson, all night.

Two things stood out about the competition -- 1) The offensive line players need to be taught how not to hold! And 2) Ball carriers need to be taught to carry the ball in the arm away from the defense. I saw too many runners (and you'll see in these pictures) carrying the ball on the side closest to the defenders, inviting any one of them to swat it out of the crook of the arm.

After that first quarter and a half, lighting conditions deteriorated quickly. I started the evening shooting at 200 ISO; I finished at 4000.

These pictures are from that game. To see all the images from the shoot, visit the gallery at my site at SmugMug.

Above and below: This Colts runner, who should be carrying the ball on his left side to protect it from defenders, doesn't see the Speedway player preparing to take a swipe at the ball, only to miss. 

Above: Ricky along the sideline, stepping into the golden sunset.

Above: One of the highlights for the Speedway offense was this scamper, which is nearing its conclusion as two Colts defenders prepare to collide along the sideline.

Above and below: A highlight of the Speedway defense came on this pass from the Colts' quarterback (above) that was knocked out of the intended receiver's hands (below). 

Above: A Speedway wide receiver preparing to block on a running play. 

Above: Even though there's no action, the symmetry and lighting in this shot, with the Colts in the Speedway red zone, is near the top of my favorites for the evening.

Above and below: This Colts ball carrier to it to the house on a long run.

Above and next three below: Ricky watching action along the sidelines (above), listening to his coach (below) and getting a pep talk from a coach in the moments before the start of the second half (second below). 

Above: This two-way player for the Colts was a thorn in Speedway's side all night. 

Above: Colts defenders put a stop to this Speedway end run in the second half. 

Above and next three below: Ricky tried holding the Colts' M. Johnson (above), only to be repaid by a jersey pull on the next play (below) and an elbow in the bread basket (second below) on the play after that. Ricky returned to Plan A (third below). 

Above and below: The Speedway defense had its hands full with No. 99, although it almost jarred the ball loose on the tackle above ... and looked like it was resorting to strangulation (below)!

Above: Ricky tried a slow dance for the last series of downs; nothing else seemed to work!

Y-Press snags Colts, Pacers coaches to help in first-ever fundraiser

Getting together the head coaches of Indianapolis' two major league sports franchises -- the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers -- to agree to answer questions, socialize, sign autographs and pose for pictures would be a coup for any civic group.

So it was a big deal Wednesday, June 20, for the youth-driven Y-Press news gathering organization in Indianapolis when it did just that. Y-Press, in operation since 1990, held "The Big Why," the title of its first-ever fundraiser in a converted downtown Indianapolis school building that is now home to the advertising agency Young & Laramore, and Colts and Pacers coaches Chuck Pagano and Frank Vogel were featured guests.

Through its history, staffers of Y-Press -- formerly known as Children's Express -- made a point of reporting and conducting interviews without adult supervision. It's been a hallmark of the group's mission -- to learn by doing. They made an exception for Wednesday's fundraiser; the point, in fact, was to publicly display what they did to generate the support they were hoping to get through the fundraising mechanism.

Attendees paid $100 per ticket to watch as five Y-Press staffers questioned Pagano and Vogel. The youths' research for their questions was so solid, they somehow learned about when Vogel, as a 13-year-old, appeared on the "Stupid Human Tricks" segment of the "Late Night With David Letterman" program to show how he could spin a basketball on a toothbrush -- while brushing his teeth. So the youths asked Vogel to reprise the trick for the crowd, and the impressed coach remarked, "You guys did your research!" before complying and giving the delighted crowd a show.

Afterward, the coaches met attendees, signed autographs and posed for pictures with them. Y-Press asked me if I would photograph the event for their promotional needs, and today's post features some of the shots from that shoot.

If you weren't able to attend "The Big Why" but would like to donate or contribute to the Y-Press endeavor, you can do so online at this page of the Y-Press website. 

Above and below: In the green room (which actually was painted yellow) before the program, Colts' Coach Chuck Pagano greeted Y-Press staffers and, along with Pacers' Coach Frank Vogel, posed for pictures.

Above and below: WTHR-TV asked Y-Press staffer Isaiah Treadwell to conduct a brief interview of Pagano for a live segment on Channel 13's 6 p.m. news broadcast. Afterward, WTHR's Dave Calabro asked Isaiah if he had any time to work for the station this summer. 
 

Above: Vogel, the coaches wives, Pacers' director of media relations David Benner, Young & Laramore president Tom Denari, other Y-Press staffers and Y-Press bureau director Lynn Sygiel (woman seated) watched Isaiah's interview on live TV in the green room.

Above: Y-Press interviewers (from left) Isaiah Treadwell, Hrishi Deshpande, Naomi Farahan, Glen Schroering and Aine Montgomery.

 

Above and below: Vogel reprising his teenage "Stupid Human Trick" on the "Late Night With David Letterman" show. 

Above: Vogel posing with Y-Press staffer Greta Herbertz, who emceed Wednesday's program.