Life the Life

 

We are about to get a new creature in our family. No, we’re not getting a dog. We’re about to have a high school graduate. Our oldest granddaughter is about to graduate from high school.

She has already made her college choice and is eager to get that journey started (as are most high school seniors). The next couple of weeks will be a rush of events with baccalaureate service, graduation, and all the events associated with all that.

The one that first made us grandparents has been a joy to watch. She’s smart (don’t take my word for it—check her test scores) and loves the outdoors. She’s tall and athletic, and could have played any sport she wanted to, but just loves to run, competing on her high school’s track and cross country teams.

I’m not sure she loves the competition so much. She just loves to run. If we’re on a vacation, she is likely to get up early and go for a run. I’ve never asked her what it is about running that she loves so much, but it does appear to be her happy place.

But isn’t that’s what it’s all about? If you love something, you’re going to chase it with all you have. Over the years, I’ve seen tons of athletes that might be best suited for one sport but the are passionate about another.

The 5’6” 150 pound linebacker. I’ve known several. They just want to play. And so they made themselves good at it. If I’m picking a team, that’s the kid I want. I don’t care how big he isn’t.

David Sweetland, Alcoa football’s offensive coordinator, played receiver at Maryville High in the 90’s and was spectacular. He also wasn’t very big and probably wasn’t that fast. But he was a player and could catch anything. And he was a difference-maker.

The 5’2” basketball player. Remember Mugsy Bogues? He could play! They list UT point guard Zakai Zeigler at 5’9”, but I’m not sure he is that tall. It doesn’t matter. The kid can play and makes everyone around him better.  

I’ve told the story for years about my son’s first sport. It was gymnastics. And he particularly seemed to enjoy the balance beam. And he loved going to Pat Dial’s gymnastics camps.

The only problem is, the balance beam is a girl’s event and, well, he sort of outgrew gymnastics. It didn’t take long to discover that his body was a bit more suited for football.

But I will always maintain that the balance and agility from those early gymnastics days served him well later on. He was an excellent skier and a heck of a basketball player before focusing on football where he went on to a career at Clemson.

My rule, and the rule that seems to have been adopted by my children, was that you had to play something. Honestly, it really didn’t matter what the sport was. And you had to put in the effort. If you worked hard at practice, you might work harder at home.

Here’s the best advice of the day: Give your child the latitude to chase their dreams—not your dreams. That happens enough that it has become a cliché. A parent wants the athletic success for their children that they never had when they were growing up.

I have seen parental judgement so clouded by ambition for their child that their child loses all interest in that sport. As a parent, you’ve got to be ready and willing to accept that.

That doesn’t mean that they can go home and jump on the computer every day—they still have to play something. I suppose I should be glad that cell phones weren’t popular when my kids were growing up. It would have been a constant battle.

Play a sport. Love a sport. Play the sport you love. Build an active lifestyle when you’re still but a child and it will serve you well for the rest of your life.