The Joy of Victory

When we first moved to this rural location in Indiana, we tried to integrate our oldest son into his peer group by placing him on a league basketball team. What a tremendous mistake! Indiana takes its basketball very seriously. They wean kids from bottles to basketballs. Bryce had never played a day of basketball in his young life. The other kids resented his presence on their team. They rarely passed the ball his direction, and he spent a fair amount of time riding the bench. Instead of boosting his self-esteem, it derailed a bit.

Several years ago, Trevor begged and begged to join the youth football league. The outset cost of $200 gave me pause. What if we invested in the experience and the boy returned from the first practices whining about how hard it was? Would it be a similar fiasco to the basketball attempt? Therefore, I put him off and put him off, promising that he could play when offered at the middle school at a more reasonable cost. He joined the team in 7th grade and by the start of his 8th grade season improved enough that the coach planned to play him on both offense and defense. Even though he contemplated quitting early on because the conditioning was hard, he persevered and ended up enjoying it. Sadly, his broken leg cut his opportunities short this year.

Last year, Sean developed a real enthusiasm for the sport because the boys on the league teams played football with him during every recess at school. Here we were again, facing the league involvement dilemma. This time, I relented. We paid the fees, discovering later it was only the tip of the iceberg as we also had to contribute for several fundraising activities and coach recognition gifts. As expected, after the first practices, Sean talked about quitting. The conditioning was brutal. He complained about the running and other exercises he perceived as pointless. Despite his resistance, we insisted that he persist (especially after spending so much)!

(Sean is at the right end of the top row. - team and individual photos by Rebecca Saylor)

(He proudly selected his big brother's number, 48!)

His tune changed over time. He discovered the secret - he enjoyed winning. Moreover, he learned that to get to the win, you must put in the practice. At the beginning, I would say he wasn't aggressive enough. In the tackle position, he sometimes let opposing players through the line. But, the more he practiced, the more he improved. Plus, he was fortunate to be playing with other boys who had years of experience. Their team was invincible. They ended the season last Saturday UNDEFEATED and took the championship trophy and individual rings home. It thrilled Sean to participate on the team and to experience the joy of victory.

Sometimes relentless practice (even on seemingly pointless drills) pays off and you encounter the thrill of winning! Now that the football season is over, I'm breathing a big sigh of relief. Because of Trevor's broken leg, I put in loads of time and mileage in the ten minute back-and-forth trips to the middle school four to six times a day. While I'm glad Sean reaped many benefits from his participation in the sport, I'm encountering my own joy - the thrill of the season's end.