track is... different

I've sat in the stands at a number of high school football halftime band shows over the past few years (one kid on percussion and another on trumpet).  They play this game called football before and after the show.  I watch the game, since I'm waiting for the band anyway.  I'm not heavily invested in it, but I've noticed it seems to make a lot of parents crazy. (Maybe you are one?)  I've witnessed a number of parents yelling, screaming, ridiculing and cursing at the game, the refs, the coaches, the opponent, the home team... and their own kid.  It's pretty ridiculous, really.

 

I've also sat in the stands this past winter at a number of 4th grade girls basketball games.  I was more invested in these, because my daughter was on the court.  With only one set of stands, parents from both teams sat together, and I witnessed a lot of drama on the court (exaggerated fouls, etc.) and in the stands (poor parental sportsmanship).

 

Both experiences reinforced why I've often said that I'm not a fan of team sports.  I really think that Americans take sports WAY too seriously... at all levels, from professional down to the youngest of teams. And, it's probably the most ridiculous the younger they are.

 

I mean, really... refs and coaches need to break up a "mom brawl" in the stands at a 4th grade basketball game? (Yes, I witnessed it!) And, you're going to sit in the stands and verbally insult 4th grade girls playing basketball... not knowing if you're sitting behind the parents of the girl you're insulting? Or, you're going to publicly yell at your own or someone else's kid because he dropped a football (while you get so distracted you "fumble" your nachos)?

 

Really?

 

Don't get me wrong... athletics is serious.  It takes great discipline to be an athlete.  No matter the sport, an athlete should give their reasonable best to it (reasonable varying and being dependent on the age and level at which they are playing). But, it's the sport and the game itself (mostly on the spectator side) that is often taken too seriously, especially by parents who think their 5 year old T-Ball player is destined for the Major Leagues, their 4th grade daughter is sure to play in the WMBA and their high school football player is a shoe-in for an NFL draft.

 

It's a game, folks.

 

Encourage your kids to do their best... and have fun... and leave it at that, huh?

 

That said, there is a sport that I am growing to love.  I love it because it is, for the most part, very different than the antics described above.

 

Track and Field.

 

I considered running track when I was in school, but never pursued it.  Now, seeing my boys on the track makes me wish I would have. Yes, I know I could become a runner now, but a 40+ year old body is a much different thing than a teenage body, and I love hiking too much to pound my knees to death in a pair of running shoes.

 

A freshman, Dylan is in his third year of track.  He loves relays and his favorite distances are currently the 400m and 800m.  (That's one lap and two laps, respectively, around the track). 

Relay handoff... Dylan (L) in his favorite tan hat

 

 

Carrying the baton

 

Pistol fires for the open 800m (Dylan outside lane)

 

Beating his personal record (PR) by 5 seconds, this finish earned him 10th place in his high school record book for the 800m... as a freshman! Way to go, Dylan!

 

A seventh grader, Zachary is in his first year of track and has been trying out a few different sprints... 100m, 200m and 400m, (quarter lap, half lap and single lap) but seems to favor slightly shorter sprints than his brother.  We weren't sure how his asthma would treat him, but so far, so good.  He has good form on the track and is athletically pushing himself pretty hard.  I'm very proud of his first season efforts.
 

Zachary (black and orange, yellow shoes) 400m

 

Zachary, pushing hard (entering left) 100m

 

While hanging out at the track for meets, as my schedule permits, I've noticed a lot of differences between track meets and football or basketball games.

 

While there is a lot of yelling (and I do my share), there is a profound absence of NEGATIVE yelling at the track officials... at the coaches... at the opponents... at the athletes... at the results.  Actually, there is very little negativity, period.

 

Yeah, there's actually sportsmanship at track meets!  There's sportsmanship among athletes, parents, coaches and officials.

 

I see runners lining up side by side with one another, and, although everyone on the track is an opponent (even teammates), they often shake hands with one another and wish each other a good race.  Afterwords, I have seen them breathlessly congratulate a victor, or encourage the runner who struggled to cross the line last or the one who pulled a muscle and finished last in severe pain.  All of this individually and voluntarily... not the forced team pleasantries before or after other types of sporting events.  I know there are exceptions, but there is a general sense of camaraderie among runners at these events that connects runners from all schools in a bond that I'm not sure other sports have.

 

Both boys have commented on this.  They say it is a sport where you are competing against others, but also competing against yourself.  They may not always finish in the top, but get a sense of victory by beating their PR.

And, my perception of the sport is that it is very hard core athletic.  Both boys push themselves pretty hard and often voluntarily go to bed early during track season, as a result.  The slogan on the back of Dylan's high school track t-shirt sums it up...

"I will do what you won't today, so I can do what you can't tomorrow!"

That mentality gives each athlete an appreciation for each other and a sense of fraternity that allows them to, in many cases, compete with each other with a very strong sportsmanship ethic.  The boys have both said it is one of the things they really like about track meets.

And, as to the parents, I have not really witnessed any poor sportsmanship there, either.  Track meets, especially Saturday ones, last for HOURS and parents from all schools share the stands amicably, for the most part, often making small talk in the down time between their kid's events.  I have not detected any strong rivalries at track meets.  Yet, when it is time for their kid to compete, parents take it very seriously... not in a way that says, "your kid's going down!", but in a way that says, "I wanna see my kid do their personal best, and I'd love it if he/she could place."

I see coaches that push their kids to excel, but do it in a way that does not berate and belittle them.  (I once witnessed a pre-game "pep talk" by our football coach... I was appalled... cursing at the boys for their losing season and telling them to get out there and get their act together.)

And back to the yelling... it's mostly positive!  Shouting encouragement to your kid as they are pushing their body to their limit to shave a second off their time... shouting encouragement to one of your kid's buddies as they do the same... or, often giving an attaboy/attagirl cheer for a stranger's kid as they push themselves just to finish last, because there is something to be said for finishing.

I can't get to all of their meets because they happen before I get home from work, or we have to divide and conquer with other kids, but when I am able to be there, I YELL!  I want my kids to know I am there!  I want them to hear their name at the top of my lungs when they are pushing themselves around that track!  I want them to know that first or last, I'm proud of them!

So, while I'd cheer for my kids in any team sport they were participating in because I'm a fan of them, I remain not a fan of [most] team sports themselves... but track is... different!

To me, it's more of what athletics should be!

A good day

Our local Kiwanis Club sponsors an annual Junior Olympics for grades K-6.  It is held each year in May at our high school track, and some members of the high school track team are always there to assist with the events.  I really appreciate the Kiwanis Club for making this investment in our kids, but I also give props to the high school track team members who participate.  The students who are there each year enthusiastically volunteer their Saturday morning, and they seem to really enjoy working with the possible future members of the track team to follow in their shoes.  They are always very encouraging of all the kids, no matter their abilities.

The event was this Saturday, and the weather was perfect.  Dylan, Zachary and Lily participated this year, and both my parents and Jen's parents came to cheer on their Grandkids.  I was never an athlete in school, but I considered joining the track team, and I think I would have enjoyed it.  Jen was taking pictures, and I was supposed to be watching Ben.  At one point in the first competition (Zachary's long jump) I got so involved in cheering for Zachary and Blake (our Pastor's son), that I lost Benny.  There was a moment of panic until we spotted him climbing to the top of the bleachers.  Actually, Zachary spotted him and was yelling and pointing from the field, while waiting for his turn to jump.  Fortunately, the bleachers were enclosed by fencing, but there was still plenty of opportunity for a kid like Benny to get hurt.  That was my "wake up call"... I didn't lose Benny any more, when he was in my charge!

Zachary measured 9'-5" in the long jump, earning him the silver medal, just 3" short of gold.

Lily took the bronze medal in the standing jump.

This was Lily's first year to participate.

Zachary won the gold medal in the obstacle course.

Lily ran the 50M for a silver medal.

This was Dylan's last year to participate and he had a rough and disappointing day.  He signed up to run the 50M, the 100M and the 200M.  He ran the 50M first and pulled a muscle in his upper thigh just short of the finish line.  He was solidly in 2nd place when he pulled the muscle, but limped across the finish line in last place (4th), just seconds away from 3rd.  He limped off the track with a few tears in his eyes, in quite a bit of pain and disappointment, knowing he was out of the competition for the day.  He sat in the stands and watched as the other boys ran the 100M and 200M.

Zachary's third event was the 100M, earning him another silver medal.

 

If you look in the background of this photo, you'll see that Benny was not going to miss out on the running action.  He was getting restless, so Jen's Dad took him out to play on the other side of the field, during the last of the awards ceremony.  At this point, he got away, and ran for freedom across the field.  Here you see him ahead of my Father-In-Law, and about to be cut off by Zachary.

Jen's parent's treated us to lunch at Arby's afterwards and I came home and spent the afternoon working on the final trim needed for the living room to be ready for the soon-to-be-installed carpet.  I knocked off at dinner time.  After dinner, Benny and I took a nice walk to a local park to play and to scout a possible geocache hiding spot.

Early that evening, I casually mentioned that it looked like a good night for sleeping in the tent. I wasn't really serious about doing it, but Zachary latched onto that and really wanted to. Jen wisely reminded me that I shouldn't "put it out there" if I wasn't serious. She was right, so I grabbed the 8 x10 (we own four different tents of various sizes), which goes up quickly. We popped it up in the backyard, grabbed some sleeping pads and bags, and built a backyard fire. After all this, I checked the forecast... mid 40's for the low. Chilly, but the mummy bags can handle that. The last time we tried to camp with Benny, he didn't do so well with sleeping in the tent. Jen suggested that I include him in our "guys night" to see how he would do. I didn't think he'd like a mummy bag, so I put him in a kid-sized rectangular, in his footed fleece sleeper and a fleece hat, with an extra blanket over him. He slept solidly until about 5 AM, when he woke up toasty warm, but wanting Mama. I could have probably got him back to sleep, but he was making a rucus and I didn't want to wake the neighbors, so we all four just grabbed our pillows and went to the house for the last few hours of the morning.

It was one of those Saturdays when it was a good day to be a Dad!

it wearies me

There are some social situations that weary me.  I could go so far as to call them social pet peeves.  Two, in particular, have been popping up more than usual, lately.  Granted, I'm a bit of an anomaly in these areas.  I am who I am, but I wasn't made to always fit perfectly in this current world.

The first social peeve:  Team sports.  I have no real use for team sports.  I know, I know... it's the holy grail of American society, but they really do nothing for me, particularly, of the professional variety.

(Let me just clarify, though, that if one of my kids were interested enough in a sport to convince me (and I can be convinced) to let them play, I'd be their biggest fan... even if I didn't understand the game very well; which I often don't, since I follow so little of any sports). 

Here's my deal:  It's simple... my Dad was never into team sports, so I didn't grow up having any interest in watching or playing any team sports.  That's all.  (Although, I briefly considered running track in school.)

OK.  My opinion here.  But, isn't it a bunch of spoiled millionaires playing a game that has become so high-tech and sophisticated that there is no real "sport" left?  And, everyone takes it so seriously... spending billions every year to support the system and fuel the obsession right down to youth sports.  When five year-old T-ball teams practice 2-3 evenings a week and arguments or brawls break out in the stands over an error or a bad call, isn't it safe to say we, as a society, have taken sports a little too seriously?  What about the old adage, "it's just a game"?  I know, what a cold, crass opinion, right?  But, MY blog... MY opinion!

(And, while I'm on my soapbox, let me establish a few things for the record:  Being a non-team sports person does not equal being non-athletic!  I enjoy walking, hiking, cycling, and backpacking... all of which could fall in the category of athletics/sports, and all of which require physical participation, not just watching someone else participate.  Frankly, a lot of avid sports enthusiasts are anything but athletic!)

But, the pet peeve isn't that sports exist.  It isn't even that you may have an interest, or possibly a passion, for sports.  That's fine.  The peeve is that sports are so inseparable from being an American, especially an American male, that I become an anomaly just for choosing to take no interest.  Try making social small talk if you're a non-sports American male... virtually impossible.  A classic example (that helped spark this post) is the mandatory daily morning sports meetings sales meetings at our car dealership.  I regularly sit there, with no input or interest, and listen to all the armchair athletes passionately debate what should'a could'a would'a been done in the previous days sports matches.

It wearies me.

The second social peeve:  Introverted people are not very well understood by much of the population.  It seems more attractive and accepted to be extroverted... to the point where some introverted people miserably pretend to be extroverted in some situations.

Of course, there are levels and degrees of introversion and extroversion.  I am probably extremely introverted... to the point where I frustrate my moderately introverted (with extroverted tendencies) wife.  While I'm not [quite] a total hermit, I like being home, and I like being with my family.

"The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family"  --Thomas Jefferson

Where this becomes a social peeve is when people do not understand or accept that this is just the way the Creator of the Universe wired some of us to operate.  A classic example (that also helped spark this post) is office parties.  I despise office parties or company Christmas parties.*  I don't despise co-workers (usually), I just don't like to spend additional time away from my home and family to spend more time with the people with which I already spend the large majority of my time, probably doing a lot of social peeve #1...

I work with some nice people.  I get along (despite my lack of sports-talk) with everyone at my workplace.  Thankfully, I was spared the misery of a formal company Christmas party.  But, a few of the guys organized an after work dinner/drink social at a local restaurant last week.  I didn't want REALLY didn't want to go.  It's not all about finances, whether or not I drink, or any of that...I'm just not wired to enjoy these settings.  But, my wiring is hard for many to understand or accept.  I'm easily labelled "antisocial"... but... doesn't that kinda parallel the definition of introversion?  Hmmmm

I didn't go, but not without feeling social peer pressure (and people think peer pressure is just a teenage phenomenon!)  And, a few co-workers (probably the ones with introverted tendencies) confided that they'd really rather not go, but felt they "had to".  What?  Had to?  How old are we?  Why can't we just be who we are comfortable being and be accepted for that?  Extroversion might be the easier of the two social spectrums, but it's not necessarily better!

It wearies me.

* ... with the one exception of PLD Christmas parties.  PLD has been known to read this blog, is a past employer, a good friend, and hosts family company Christmas parties that even this introvert can appreciate and enjoy!