4/21/17 – Sports are like life
When people ask me about our daughter’s sports career and if all the time and money we spent was worth it my answer is always an emphatic, YES. But not because of the accolades, the notoriety, and not even for the scholarships. I always tell people that them playing sports was always bigger than the games or their accomplishments.
This week I had two events that bookend why sports are bigger than just playing. The first was when my granddaughter who is only in the first grade received the equivalent of the valedictorian award from her teacher, the “most inspirational” award. Her teacher said that “this little lady walked through the door on the first day of school with a spirit and a grace” that she has not really seen in a first grader. Now, although my grand has only played a year of organized soccer, her influence from her parents, me and my wife was developed from our years in sports and we have all been passing down what we learned from our coaches and mentors to her and as her teacher stated, she works hard, she is kind and has inspired even her teacher to be a better teacher. This is the hallmark of what sports should be about.
The other event is when I reached out to my buddy Chris to get some feedback on an experience that I knew he would be honest and insightful about. Although what he shared with me was extremely helpful, it was the fact that after several years of he and I have only been able to connect on social media, I could call him and because of our relationship built from our daughters playing together a few years ago, through sports we were able to build a love and respect for each other that started through sports.
Kids playing sports, teaches hard work, responsibility, respect for others and how to love and make the people around you better, even for the parents are the real reason why sports are important. Winning, notoriety and scholarships are a byproduct of all of this.
“(Sports), football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.”
~Vince Lombardi