Life as a Freedom football player isn’t always as fun as it might seem. The countless hours of hard work and the endless days of practice tend to take a physical toll. There are certain things that every football players will relate to doing to help them get through the football season.

• Take naps everywhere

With the two and a half hour practices as frequent as four or five days a week, a football player struggles to keep himself awake during the day.

Xavier Walker, Senior, said, “I sleep so much throughout the day. I take one nap during first period, another one around third period and another after lunch. Then, as soon as I get home from practice, I go straight to the couch and take a nice long nap so I can be up late for homework – the only problem is I’m usually still tired after that.”

• Have water bottles everywhere in their room

Since football practices are long and out in the heat, players tend to get dehydrated. A lack of water can cause your muscles to tighten, leading to cramps, which is why football players have so many water bottles scattered around the room.

Riley Allgood, Junior, explained “I have a lot of water bottles scattered all over my room – they are literally everywhere I look. I find them in my closet, with my dirty laundry, under my bed and sometimes in my bed. It’s a good thing to have all those half drank water bottles because I get cramps in my legs all the time before I go to bed.”

• Eat lots of bananas

Bananas are a great source of potassium, which also helps prevent cramps.

Junior Amar McRae said, “I eat a lot of bananas, especially on game days. I have one in the morning, one at lunch, and then two during team meal before the game. I get so many cramps in my legs, [and] bananas help prevent it from happening so often.”

• Carry their clothes all day

Football players can’t leave their practice clothes in lockers because of the post-practice odor. Instead, they take all their stuff home to wash it and then bring it back the next day.

Kale Gargan, Sophomore, stated, “It’s a hassle having to carry all my stuff with me to all my classes. It won’t fit in my regular locker and the boy’s locker room is always locked in the mornings, so I can’t really leave it anywhere else. I’m not old enough to drive, but even if I had a car I wouldn’t leave my stuff in there because even after washing my clothes, they still don’t smell very good, and I wouldn’t want my car smelling like a football player,”

• Use multiple air fresheners in their car

Students want to prevent the practice clothes smell from seeping into their cars. The best way to keep your car from smelling like the boy’s locker room is to have at least 3 air fresheners in the car at all times.

Charlie Strawn, Junior, said, “I have air fresheners all over the place in my truck. Ssome haven’t even been opened yet, but they always keep my truck smelling decent enough to at least have some other people ride with me.”

These five things all football players do help them get through the rough and tiring football season.