And yet as fun as the wins are, I suspect the bad days are the ones when the kids learn more. How to pick themselves up and go on, how to admit mistakes, how to support team mates who have made mistakes.
I think one of the most important things we hope our kids learn is that failure and mistakes are not the end of the world. That their value is not determined by being the best, or even really good at something. They can be their personal best and they can improve even in things that are not their strengths. One of my personal regrets is that somewhere along the way I became very afraid of failing and therefore avoided many challenges n my life because I did not want to risk failure. That is one of the things I think that Jeff has most brought to my life, is an optimism and enthusiasm which encourages me to try new things. I hope my children grow up with that ethos as well.
One of the things I am very grateful for is that our sports experiences have almost all had positive parents, coaches and team mates. I have heard of win-at-all costs youth sports, but we really have not encountered them. Some of our kids are better than others at sports, but in they have all had coaches and parents that cheered them on and built them up even when they were the "weak link" on a team!
I am also grateful that we have managed to make our sports family activities. We have spent many a summer evening at the baseball diamond with a picnic dinner cheering one of the Butes on. Bute1 loves nothing better to be a base coach for his younger brothers and he has often served as their equipment manager. In this game Bute2 was serving as the official scorekeeper for his brother's game.
So, pardon me if I revel in Bute1's performance today, but know that there is a lot more to our sports than victories and triumphs!
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Location:Diamond #1
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