we talkin' 'bout practice!! practice, man!
the apple falls not far from the tree...my son is a sports maniac. he loves to watch all kinds of sporting events on television. he will even sit with me to watch less popular offerings such as soccer and lacrosse. more than watching, he (like any real athlete) would rather play. golf, basketball, t-ball, soccer, football, swimming, volleyball, it really doesn't matter; he is ready to go. he loves to go to live games of all kinds. we've been fortunate to go to many different types of sporting events in many different cities.
right now he is playing in a basketball league. today marked the first game of the season. as usual, he got himself worked up into a frenzy of nervousness all morning long. here is where he and i diverge. i rarely was nervous before a game; he always is. he vomited in the parking lot as we were walking to the gym.
two seasons ago, he was so upset before each game that he decided that he wasn't going to play. he practiced his brains out with his team; but, when it came game-time, he was unable to get in the game. it drove us crazy. threats, bribery, peer-pressure were absolutely without effect for this kid. he didn't care. when he has made up his mind, that is the end of the discussion. i finally compelled him to play in the games held at the sbc center before the spurs game. not enough of his teammates were going to be able to make the trip; so it was either he play, or the whole team would have to forfeit. of course this would mean that the opposing team would be unable to play also, and we thought that was unfair. he played, and did pretty well. the caveat was that he required me to be on the court with him and follow along, up and down the court with the "peleton."
this morning, while jman was "earlin' in the parking lot" , i was reminded of a couple of my friends from high school:
galen cox was a fantastic football player. he was a linebacker and punter on our team. we selected him as one of our team captains. every game from seventh through twelfth grade, he puked his guts out right after stretches. i'm not sure what the rest of us would have done if he didn't get sick, so expected was this ritual. his nervousness had no effect on his play; he was voted all-district, cen-tex, and region when we were seniors.
when mike thomas moved into the area just before our eighth-grade year, we were glad to see him. not only did his dad own most of the schlotzky's sandwich shops in austin, mike was big. we figured he would be a good addition to our football and basketball teams. he was. mike was a tight end, and a good one. he also got nervous at game time. on the day of our first eighth grade game, we were stretching on the field. mike had expressed to us that his stomach was not feeling normal and he thought he might be sick. we didn't think much, because galen was puking his guts out at the time. all bets were off when, a few minutes later, mike's gastro-intestinal system relieved itself through a much smellier option. poor mike had to make his way from the high school field down to the middle school field-house while trying to not let his befouled backside be seen by anyone. after a shower and a change of clothes, he gamely returned to the field ready to play.
fortunately, jackson's extreme nervousness doesn't affect his love for playing, or his quality of play. you just have to watch out for the semi-digested pile of scrambled egg sandwich in the parking lot.
right now he is playing in a basketball league. today marked the first game of the season. as usual, he got himself worked up into a frenzy of nervousness all morning long. here is where he and i diverge. i rarely was nervous before a game; he always is. he vomited in the parking lot as we were walking to the gym.
two seasons ago, he was so upset before each game that he decided that he wasn't going to play. he practiced his brains out with his team; but, when it came game-time, he was unable to get in the game. it drove us crazy. threats, bribery, peer-pressure were absolutely without effect for this kid. he didn't care. when he has made up his mind, that is the end of the discussion. i finally compelled him to play in the games held at the sbc center before the spurs game. not enough of his teammates were going to be able to make the trip; so it was either he play, or the whole team would have to forfeit. of course this would mean that the opposing team would be unable to play also, and we thought that was unfair. he played, and did pretty well. the caveat was that he required me to be on the court with him and follow along, up and down the court with the "peleton."
this morning, while jman was "earlin' in the parking lot" , i was reminded of a couple of my friends from high school:
galen cox was a fantastic football player. he was a linebacker and punter on our team. we selected him as one of our team captains. every game from seventh through twelfth grade, he puked his guts out right after stretches. i'm not sure what the rest of us would have done if he didn't get sick, so expected was this ritual. his nervousness had no effect on his play; he was voted all-district, cen-tex, and region when we were seniors.
when mike thomas moved into the area just before our eighth-grade year, we were glad to see him. not only did his dad own most of the schlotzky's sandwich shops in austin, mike was big. we figured he would be a good addition to our football and basketball teams. he was. mike was a tight end, and a good one. he also got nervous at game time. on the day of our first eighth grade game, we were stretching on the field. mike had expressed to us that his stomach was not feeling normal and he thought he might be sick. we didn't think much, because galen was puking his guts out at the time. all bets were off when, a few minutes later, mike's gastro-intestinal system relieved itself through a much smellier option. poor mike had to make his way from the high school field down to the middle school field-house while trying to not let his befouled backside be seen by anyone. after a shower and a change of clothes, he gamely returned to the field ready to play.
fortunately, jackson's extreme nervousness doesn't affect his love for playing, or his quality of play. you just have to watch out for the semi-digested pile of scrambled egg sandwich in the parking lot.
posted by cm at 7/29/2006
<< Home