I spent Saturday & Sunday out of town on a semi-unexpected trip without my laptop, so this is the first chance I’ve had to write. I say semi-unexpected because my son was going to play in a soccer tournament but the original plan was that he’d ride with a team mate and stay in a room with one of the coaches. At the last minute I decided to go drive him and actually ended up with one of his team mates in our car.
There were two games on Saturday and one on Sunday with the championship game to follow. The Sabers (my son’s team) made it all the way to the championship game, which they won. Now that might seem the deciding factor as to whether or not the trip was a success, but that was only a piece.
I was never much into sports. In grade school, I alternated being the shortest in our grade with two other boys, and the difference was only microns. Needless to say that for the recess softball games we were the last picked and there was the unspoken hope among the more talented athletes that recess would end before we got up to bat. Eventually I tended to take a book to recess.
You have to realize that sports were not a major influence on my life. I grew up in Toledo, and for most my childhood we didn’t even have the Mudhens minor league baseball team. When the Mudhens did return, they didn’t actually play in Toledo, but in Maumee – not exactly in my neighborhood. The University of Toledo had a couple of good football years while I was there, but has never been a sports school.
However, during the tournament I could see some of the things that my son has learned – as well as some he still needs to learn. In his case, I think he’s got a good chance of learning these things earlier than I did by virtue of being on an organized team.
Every parent wants their children to succeed better than the parent did and I’m no exception. I’m glad the team won, but I’m more interested in seeing the other skills these boys are being taught. Things like discipline, respect and being a part of something as opposed to just thinking about one’s self.
He’s got a long way to go, but he’s just barely a teenager, so that should be just about right. Seeing him and his team mates progress is what made the weekend a success for me.
