Game-Winning and Season-Ending Touchdown

Kids should not get a trophy JUST for their mom sending in a registration form, writing a check, driving them to practice, watching them stand around a field with really no clue what they are doing and perhaps not even knowing which sport they are really playing. They should not go through their lives thinking that just by showing up, they will get rewarded. That is wrong with the “tweeners” we see today. I have coached them. Andy has seen them come into the workforce. Their expectations are too high and their work ethic is too low. And if you ask me, it is because a generation of hovering, helicopter parents never taught them any hard lessons. And youth sports, which used to teach teamwork along with the consequences of winning and losing, is now more about fostering equality than naturally showcasing natural selection.

OK. That was my staple stump speech at dinner parties, the office water cooler or anywhere else anyone would listen. However, yesterday, Alex got his first trophy. And now I am feeling a bit of remorse for being so cynical and may need to reluctantly retract some of my comments.

Alex’s first full season of a team sport - YMCA Flag Football - has come to an end. He loved going to practice. He loved carpooling with the other boys. He loved having a coach, wearing his uniform and wearing a mouth guard (when we remember it). He scored five touchdowns for the season, but he will talk the most about his touchdown saving tackle (or flag pull). He knew the score of every game and was so excited to end the season on a high note - a squeaker of a win, 14-13, over the league leading “Touchdowners.” Afterwards, they handed him his trophy along with his juice box and I got a glimpse of pure happiness and satisfaction for a job well done. It was right then that I realized he deserved it, and possibly so did all those other kids I have been bashing for years.

But keep in mind, Alex is five. And I really hope I am not writing this same post when he is 15. Until then, congrats on a great season Green Bengals!

Click here to see a video of Alex in action on the football field.