Texas 1A Fan
  • Home
  • Broadcasts
  • Back Roads Podcast
  • Sports
    • Football >
      • 2024 Football Road to State
      • Division I Scores
      • Division II Scores
      • All Sixman Scores
      • 1A Fan Helmet Sticker Winners
      • 1A in 11-man Scores
    • Volleyball
    • Cross Country
    • Basketball >
      • Region I
      • Region II
      • Region III
      • Region IV
    • Golf
    • Tennis
    • Baseball
    • Softball
    • Track & Field
  • Activities
    • One Act Play
    • Spirit
    • UIL Congress
    • UIL Academics
    • UIL Band
  • The ZONE
    • Contests >
      • Golden Spirit Stick
    • Highlights from the Hinterlands
  • Links
  • Contact

The Little Guy

8/26/2018

2 Comments

 
Picture
           Kylar Pepper & 2017 Klondike Cougars 

By Bobbie Brown

Remember the Titans. Hoosiers. Rudy. There are many stories about overcoming challenging situations to be victorious. We all love the underdog. They motivate us to be better and to work harder. Some even inspire us personally.
 
I found this kind of inspiration last year. It came at the most unlikely time and in a surprising place. The Balmorhea Bears roared into Klondike to take on the Cougars, and I was there to watch. I expected to see the Bears roll to another victory, and that’s exactly what I witnessed. But I saw much more than that. A tiny freshman Klondike Cougar caught my attention.

While he was small in stature, he was huge in heart. I watched him make plays a little guy should never make. He got knocked down over and over, and every time that happened, he would jump right back up ready for the next play. I watched him later in the season when the Cougars made the short trip over to Ira to take on the Bulldogs. And there #1 was… still playing with very well-developed fundamentals and that great big heart. I immediately knew I had to find out his story.
 
Kylar Pepper. The little Cougar with the big heart. I like to call him Mighty Mouse. I thought it appropriate he wore #1 on his Cougar jersey proudly. He is switching to lucky #7 this year. Kylar is a typical teenager in that he loves chocolate, especially Milk Duds, really enjoys learning about history in class at Klondike High School and listens to country music. He lives on a farm ten miles from the school and works the land with his dad. Much like other 1A kids, he participates in multiple sports. While his favorite sport is football, he also plays basketball and runs track. Kylar believes that running track is essential to doing well on the football field. He quoted his coach saying, “Run the ring in the spring to move the ball in the fall.” Great advice!
 
Being small in size may seem an obstacle to most football players, but Kylar doesn’t let it affect him. He admits he sometimes gets discouraged but immediately pushes that to the back of his mind and remains tough. Last year against Balmorhea he says with certainty about playing the Bears, “That was intimidating. I got barreled over a couple of times, but I just tried to get back up and be tough.” Kylar admits it’s sometimes very intimidating to go out there at his size, but he just has to get back up, be tough, and keep going.
 
There are many teams with smaller kids who have lots of heart. Kelan Evans from Santa Anna and Caleb Chisum from Jayton, just to name a few. I asked Kylar if he had any advice for other 1A kids who may not be the biggest guy on the field. He had wise words. “Don’t be intimidated by anyone. No matter what size they are, go out there and give 100% every day. Just stick it out. Don’t worry about your size. Don’t worry about your weight. Just stick it out, and you’ll be alright! You’ll be good!”
 
Coach Degraffenreid had great things to say about Kylar, “He’s an exciting kid to watch.” Sometimes the smallest guy on the field has to learn the fundamentals of the game and make them evident in every move just to see some playing time. Coach “D” says Kylar works hard and has earned every second he gets on the playing field. He added, “Kylar is a great kid!”
 
Kylar may be viewed as the underdog, but he doesn’t want to be seen that way. In many ways, Sixman football is the same. The underdog to big schools. The underdog to 11-man football. We are the little guy. But more importantly, we are the little guy with the great big heart who pushes discouragement out of the way and forges on tirelessly. We love our players. And they come in all shapes and sizes. Our towns may be small, but we are family. Small towns provide a simpler life, and we enjoy every second of it. We do more than exist. We embody the fight within the human spirit. So many 1A kids like Klondike Cougar #1 represent our towns with pride and the “never give up” attitude.
 
Thank you, Kylar Pepper, for being an inspiration. You are an example for us all. Never change that about yourself, and never, ever lose that heart! You, sir, encourage me to go forward and do Good!


2 Comments
Betty Thixton
8/26/2018 06:44:40 pm

Way to go Kylar

Reply
Judy Holder
8/26/2018 07:15:28 pm

Kylar is an outstanding young man on the field, court, and track but he’s just as awesome off those. He knows His Lord and has a never ending grin anytime I see him. He’s been raised right and you just gotta love him❤️ Great job Kylar.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    The Zone

    We all have a story... a funny story or a serious story. This space is for those stories that make us laugh or cry or feel motivated. 

    Archives

    September 2023
    August 2022
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    February 2017

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Broadcasts
  • Back Roads Podcast
  • Sports
    • Football >
      • 2024 Football Road to State
      • Division I Scores
      • Division II Scores
      • All Sixman Scores
      • 1A Fan Helmet Sticker Winners
      • 1A in 11-man Scores
    • Volleyball
    • Cross Country
    • Basketball >
      • Region I
      • Region II
      • Region III
      • Region IV
    • Golf
    • Tennis
    • Baseball
    • Softball
    • Track & Field
  • Activities
    • One Act Play
    • Spirit
    • UIL Congress
    • UIL Academics
    • UIL Band
  • The ZONE
    • Contests >
      • Golden Spirit Stick
    • Highlights from the Hinterlands
  • Links
  • Contact