I LOVE what you are doing here…I feel like I have finally caught up with you and learned even MORE along the way! I have read almost every post and while I have a fleeting thought here and there, nothing justified boring your readers with my input! Until this….we had a great life lesson with sports and I thank God that it turned out well!!

I too started “Boy” (a fond family nickname given to the eldest male child) in soccer…at 4….it provided (and still provides) great memories of him running the other way while the team drove the ball to the opposite goal, just in time for him to turn around and start heading in the right direction when the team was headed back. While he enjoyed being there, he was clueless. We also tried, t-ball, baseball, tennis and golf. Alas, poor Boy was just not suited for any of the above.

This was difficult for a family of athletes, espeically since his twin sisters excelled at virtually any sport they attempted and were currently holding state titles in competitive gymnastics. I felt guilty for pushing yet worried about his lack of physical activity. He had begun to gain weight, and was tall for his age, but just didn’t have an athletic bone in his body. He was a loner and would sit on the playground at school and watch as the other boys played. He was always a very, very bright boy, but it broke my heart to see him missing out on so much.

The summer of Boy’s 8th grade year, I announced he was attending a summer camp. He could pick whichever he liked, but lack of decision on his part would result in football camp at GAC. I felt his size would be an asset for football as he was much bigger than the other boys his age and the lack of “competition” at a summer school camp hopefully would just keep him physically active without the pressure to win at all costs. Whatever he decided, he would not be allowed to sit on the sofa all summer.

Many tears and “please don’t make me” conversations later, it was time to go to camp. I drove to the field, dropped him off and cried the whole way home. Would my insistence be what drove him to pulling panty hose over his head and robbing mini marts later in life? What if they made fun of him, what if they were mean to him, should I turn around and go pick him back up? How could I have done this horrible thing? What kind of mother was I???

When I picked him up that day, I was wearing my best nervous smile when I asked “how was it bud?” He couldn’t stop chattering. While he was quick to learn his limitations, it wasn’t so bad. Everyone was cheering for him, encouraging him to finish the task at hand. When the day came that he wasn’t the “last” to finish the drill, it was almost as if he had finished first! The kids, the coaches and the parents congratulated him as if he had won an Olympic Gold medal…and for Boy he had! We were blessed beyond words to find a “supportive” atmosphere for Boy to find his place!!!

I’m proud to announce that Boy has stuck with football, and has played on the Varsity team for GACS since his sophomore year. He is heading into his senior year now and has many awards and newspaper articles tucked safely away earned through the sport he has learned to adore.

He runs with a pack of other teammates and is mad at me when I need an errand run that keeps him from training after school with the gang. This sport (which could be ANY sport for your child) has come with many gifts, self confidence, a place to belong, friendship and many life lessons. He has learned to work hard for what he wants, that hard work alone will not guarantee success and that life isn’t fair, but it is worth working for. Football has unbelievably changed Boy’s life for the better!!!!

Sports, when administered by supportive coaches, can be so much more than a form of exercise and while each child is different, and each child needs to find the perfect place to fit….when they do, it opens up a whole new world!!!!!

Sorry to ramble on…but hey, you asked for it! Lots of love!!!

Susan was frozen in fear out on the field. Her approach to the soccer/sports things was to cry, whine, and stand in the middle of the field and every time the ball came her way, she would put her hands in front of her face and crouch as though she was being assaulted!

We did have her finish out the season, as she had been a part of the decision in wanting to try it out. Certainly she has other strong talents to share, and soccer was not one of them.

I think Susan realized that just because her sisters were good at something, does not mean she was going to be good at it or more importantly… enjoy doing it. She is very talented in so many other areas of her life and she absolutely excels in her own way.