The End of an Era

Tonight marked the end of R's first Junior PeeWee football season...and perhaps his last (at least for a while).This has been a very interesting youth sports experience for us. I have always encouraged my children to try lots of different things so they could begin to coalesce what they enjoy, but this experience has been hard.

Our team is young and small. We only scored one touchdown the whole season. Our boys have all commented on how "tired of losing" they are. R's enthusiasm really waned.

I think it has been especially difficult because we had such high hopes of it being incredible. My little guy is a HUGE fan of the game of football. He studies it. He understands it. He was very excited for the chance to suit up.But he is small compared to boys his age. (That is not an optical illusion. He is the red 48 jersey in the middle being dwarfed by other boys his age.)

And as it turns out, he really does NOT enjoy being tackled.
About a month into the season (after a few long weeks of 3-4 night a week practices) he decided he didn't want to play any more. There were tears shed more than once over not wanting to go to practice.

I confess that the sacrifice our whole family was making (no weeknight family dinners at home) seemed especially frustrating when he wasn't even enjoying himself. There were two long evening conversations in my kitchen after the children had gone to bed where my husband and I discussed the cost of a lesson in honoring commitments. My husband was giving a considerable amount of the little free time he has to volunteer as an assistant coach. R quitting would take the team down a player and a coach. We had also invested in equipment, registration fees and a uniform.

I am a HUGE fan of real life moral lessons, but honestly, I was tired of the afternoons spent explaining why he had to go, then rearranging our family's schedule to shuttle a kid with a poor attitude. There were two evenings where he 'took a knee' the whole practice because he told the coaches he didn't want to participate. This Fall has held some HARD lessons for R...AND for me.

When his Daddy and I decided he was going to honor his word and finish the season, R stopped complaining. He went to practice willingly and started working harder. He started getting more playing time. Even when he was on the bench, he still really enjoyed watching the game.
And slowly but surely, our decision to stick with it and not give up appeared to pay off. As a result of tough decisions my R was learning and growing. So were we.

I am not sure R will ever remember this 'life lesson,' but I will. In a world of instant gratification where decisions are increasingly based on what 'works for me' with little regard for the effects on other people, it felt a bit strange to draw a line in the sand about something as seemingly insignificant as Junior PeeWee football. But, you have to start somewhere. I am glad we did.

I am thankful to be married to a man of strong character that knows in life there are few 'little things.' Being intentional and consistent requires attention to all the decisions we make--especially the ones young eyes are watching.