As a short and stocky freshman in high school, I felt a lot of pressure to continue playing football after playing both seasons during my time in a Michigan middle school. I had a brother's reputation and the expectations of friends to live up to, so I came out to play 9th-grade football for Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Football is a tough sport, and no one playing high school football in America should expect anything other than a tough and difficult experience. "It will be good for you," I was often told, and in many ways, I believe the people who encouraged me to play and stay in football were right. I made friends, learned a lot about the game I loved to watch, and developed a stronger meaning of what it meant to be part of a team. However, as with any tough experience, there are parts of it I have trouble letting go of, and not in a good way.

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I remember being slapped in the face by a teammate and told that if I were to mention it to anyone that he and his cousin would kill me. I also remember being called an asshole and a pussy by coaches repeatedly for forgetting plays, falling down, and being too slow.

I still have unpleasant memories of the Oklahoma drill where each player would run 10-25 yards straight into a teammate, which in my case was twice my size. I spent an evening in the hospital from one drill where I was propped up by one player and rammed into by another, causing my jaw to lock up for several minutes. I also experienced several "stingers," but none of this, and even what I will share below, is unique. It's all considered part of a normal football experience.

My most vivid memory from my experience was "the pit."

The Pit

On the way from the locker room to the practice field, there was a large sandbox roughly 15x15 ft. This was a high school with no children, so why was there a sandbox?

This sandbox, which no longer exists at the school, was nicknamed "the pit." My first real experience in the pit happened in the first few weeks of the season. I was told to enter the pit with our largest teammate -- a player that stood 6'7 270 pounds (yes, as a freshman in high school). A coach blew his whistle and before I knew it I was being thrown to the ground and jumped on. I left the pit uninjured, but confused.

Football is a sport that demands toughness, but does it require hand-to-hand combat? Sure, no punches were thrown, but none of us were equipped or trained in martial arts or given much instruction as to what was and wasn't allowed in the pit.

This would not be my last experience in the pit. From what I can remember, I entered the pit 2-3 more times, including the day before our final game of the year. Coaches placed bets on either me or my opponent (another Michael). Luckily, I left the pit for the last time on top, but I would have preferred to have never entered in the first place.

What do you think of "the pit?" I'm very curious to hear your thoughts. Is this perfectly fine and I just need to toughen up? Comment below.