In the middle of the field on the chilly October night, Senior Football player John Haler looked up and around him at the dark night sky, into the bright lights shining down on him. A surreal feeling of nostalgia and realization hit him.

“All I could think was that this was it. I would never be on a football field wearing pads and a helmet again,” Haler said.

With all that football has provided, delivering important lessons and new experiences, it’s no surprise that players have been deeply impacted and have some intense feelings from the last game of the season. One thing Haler knows that he will miss the deep “brotherhood” and friendship he had with his teammates.

“I loved how I could go to practice and be friends with anyone, it didn’t matter who you were on the field or at practice, what mattered was that you were there grinding it out every day with everyone else,” he said. “I will miss being able to mess around with my friends every day after school the most.”

Starting his football career in the 7th grade, Haler has gained a lot of experiences, lessons, and values that he plans to bring with him into college. One major lesson was kindness. Going from a freshman to a senior player, Haler knew how it felt to be a younger team member and “learned to look at things from a more patient and ‘team-player’ perspective, meaning that the world doesn’t revolve around me or anyone for that matter, but rather all of us and we have to work together in both sports and life,” he said.

Haler is not pursuing football in college opting instead to focus on his studies, but one of his teammates, Senior Ethan Lieb, is planning on it. Starting at just 8 years old, Lieb has worked hard and been very dedicated to following his passion and honing his skill set – kicking and punting – by putting in extra practice and even attending camps throughout the year.

“Over last winter I earned a 3.5-star rating, putting me in the top 250 in the country and top 10 in the state. I am extremely excited to see where it will take me,” Lieb said.

Although he is pursuing football later, there is still a feeling of loss now that the season is over. According to Lieb, during the last game of the season usually only the senior players cry, but this time around “everyone cried, including underclassmen, which was rare for New Ulm.” While the result of the game ultimately didn’t matter, it certainly added to the intense emotions that night.

“Football has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hated it and I loved it,” Haler said. He takes this bittersweet feeling, all the lessons, and all the memories he’s collected over the past 6 school years, and walks off the field, carrying them onto the next stage of his life. Knowing that while this moment won’t happen again, “it was all worth it for the memories that I was fortunate enough to create.”