Huddle up: Elijah Zabludoff on high school football

Editor’s note: Elijah Zabludoff is a senior football player from St. John Bosco High and an aspiring journalist. Each week during the high school football season, he will be blogging about his personal experiences and also his thoughts about prep sports in general. Zabludoff is a returning starter at center for the Braves, who are undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the Southland by the Los Angeles Times.

You know that feeling you get in your stomach when there is so much to do you are just frozen?

For me and thousands of other high school football players, that feeling is at an all-time high. It’s the time of year in which grades, college applications, tests and sports -- all at different times and at the same time -- are most important. Hours upon hours of tasks to complete are piled on by teachers, counselors and coaches.

Every night I close my eyes and think: “I can do more.” That thought really makes me nervous. It keeps me up at night, and I know I am not the only one. It seems as if I should stay up all night regardless. Bedtime isn’t 9 p.m. anymore, it’s changed to midnight and sometimes even 1 a.m.

Stress levels at this time of the year are so high that priorities get shuffled. As student-athletes, we want everything to be at the top of the list, but we have to realize that can’t always happen.

A typical day’s work for a St. John Bosco football player is about 16 hours. We’re up by 6 a.m. and at school for weightlifting and conditioning by 7. From 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., we’re in school, and by 3 p.m. practice is in full swing. During the hour we study film, it is tempting to put my head down and sleep.

When we get home from practice about 6:45 p.m., it feels as if we can’t do anything else. But the backpack is always full of work -- about 2 1/2 hours worth of homework on any given night.

Even with so much going on, I can feel the playoff atmosphere coming. The playoffs are intense and even more competitive and physical than league play. Playing in November and December is always a top goal for any team, but it’s not always easy to focus while also trying to manage the holidays.

Holidays mean family is visiting and the amount of food available to consume skyrockets. So, as finals week fast approaches, football becomes more significant than ever and there’s also the matter of gifts for friends, family and girlfriends stacked on top of that.

Such is the life of a committed student-athlete around this time of year.

One’s health and well-being should always be the top priority, but with everything going on at once sometimes that gets pushed aside. It saddens me that I can no longer lie down with a DiGiorno pizza and take a long, glorious nap. At this point, I have become the master of the 15-minute power nap.

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Last Friday night, the St. John Bosco Braves finished off a perfect regular season -- a 10-0 record -- by defeating the Servite Friars, 42-21. The Braves, for the second consecutive year, finished Trinity League play with a 5-0 record. It’s an amazing feeling, going 10-0 the last two ears combined in one of the toughest leagues in the nation. And also coming out of it relatively injury free. There are nicks and bruises, of course, but nothing a little Icy Hot can’t fix.

On Friday, the Braves play host to Agoura High in the first round of the playoffs. As the top-seeded team in our division, we know a target is on our back at all times. In the playoffs, preparation is vital because we haven’t seen a lot of these teams this season or in seasons past. But the Braves are prepared and determined to live up to and exceed all expectations.