Proud Father moment. This will go long. I’ll probably cry. Again.
This is year 3 for lacrosse for one of my boys. Year 1 he was 8, super shy and had never picked up a stick. He was nervous but eager to try it. Coach was super supportive and just a friendly guy. Still, most kids on the other teams were veteran players and the season was tough.
Year 2 he aged up to the u11 team. Sure, he had a year experience but now he was “the little kid” out there. The coach was also an extreme hardo. Last game of the season, coach screamed the f word at a referee. Everybody heard it. It was another very difficult season, and only in the 2nd half of their very last game did my little guy come alive and show some fire. It was incredible.
This season, now he’s the big kid again. He’s definitely one of the tallest, more solid kids out there. Coach from year 1 is back! Along with an assistant coach from last year who we already know and are on good terms with. Still, game 1 my guy was timid and very anxious on the field.
Today was game 2. He started on defense, the same position he has played in every game since starting lacrosse. We noticed early on today that he wasn’t just letting kids run by him. He was hacking away and leaning in on kids. It was encouraging! He played the entire first quarter, and a few minutes of quarter 2 before motioning to us that he couldn’t breathe, so we yelled for him to just run off the field. He did. Coach first told him to go back but they sorted it out quickly.
To start the second half, he overpowered a kid in a 1v1 loose ball battle. Scooped the ball and carried it end to end. Danced around a few players and sailed a shot just wide. Mind you, I’ve never seen him fight for a loose ball. I’ve never seen him get hacked and fight through it. I’ve never seen him carry the ball more than a few steps. And he’s definitely never crossed midfield, Nevermind as the ball carrier! It was f***ing electric.
Coach must have agreed. His next shift he played as a mid fielder. Same thing. End to end rush that he lost control of in the slot.
I don’t know what clicked today. I like to think a lot of it is just GOOD coaching. Supportive, but firm coaching. These guys just get it. It shows. The players listen, they cheer each other on, and they are having fun! Youth sports at their best.
We hardly recognized little TD Charlie out there today. It was 13 hours ago and I’m still riding that high. I am so incredibly proud of that boy.