Except for its last sentence:
And keep in mind that the interior experience of playing a sport, the beauty and joy of it, is sovereign territory and belongs to the kids themselves.
A friend recently posted on Facebook a column from the Boston Globe titled "How parents are ruining youth sports: Adults should remember what athletics are really about." Having played baseball as a child in the shadows of so many overbearing, obnoxious parents (I am grateful that mine were not among them), and continuing to see similar parents to this day, the article for the most part imparted nothing new. Except for its last sentence: And keep in mind that the interior experience of playing a sport, the beauty and joy of it, is sovereign territory and belongs to the kids themselves. I could not have said it better, and as Edward's baseball tournament draws to a close this week, I am reminded of the pictures I took on opening day.
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Of course I will buy him a ring pop.
We are in Cornelius today, in between games one and two of a challenge baseball tournament. It's something that we've both been looking forward to. His great grandfather was a ball player. As was his grandfather. And, of course, his daddy. To have made his rec league's version of an all star team made us all so proud, and we were all excited for his first challenge games today. And surely that knee injury from an awkward slide last Saturday would be all better today. He rested it all week. We did exactly what the orthopedist's office said to do. This morning, he was ready to go. His knee unfortunately wasn't, which we noticed after the first inning. He said a ball hit it in warm ups. It was swollen. I know it was the right thing to do to tell the coaches to bench my son. But I can tell from those tears that he secretly wipes away in the shade of a tree that he is heartbroken. Childhood is full of disappointments. We remember some forever and some pass away quickly. I will do my best today to help today fall into the latter. I will encourage him to cheer wildly for his teammates in game two. I will tell him he'll be ready for the next tournament in a few weeks. And, of course, I'll buy him a ring pop. |
AuthorJosh Durham is a lawyer, husband, dad, and an astronaut. Okay, he made that last part up, but he did go to Space Camp. Twice. Josh lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife, three kids, and a cat. Archives
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