The Beauty of Youth Sports

Last night, I had the pleasure of experiencing youth sports at its' finest. My son plays on his seventh grade junior varsity basketball team. Now is a good time to note he is a 5'11" 200lb thirteen year old boy. His passion is football and he plays on the offensive and defensive line. He went out for basketball because he loves playing sports in school and loves being a part of a team. He made the JV squad and was very happy with that and saw it as a huge accomplishment.

The season came and went in a blink and he found himself at the last game without having scored a single point in any match up. As the time wound down, you could sense all his teammates and coaches willing him to score. They were all yelling for him and telling him to shoot no matter where he was on the court. His teammates would get the ball and immediately throw it to him just to give him a chance. There was no real offense being run. It was simply, "Get Duncan the ball." The coach was doing everything she could to give him an opportunity to be in the game and make a basket.

Time was winding down. There were about 30 seconds left (ish) and he got fouled. This is when the mom in me got emotional. This is one of those moments when you wish you could go on the court and give your child ANYTHING to help them make a basket. You want it for them so bad and it does not matter it is a seventh grade JV game. For this mom it felt a lot bigger than that. The varsity team was standing up in the bleachers with their arms in the air. Parents, coaches, and teammates were all cheering for him. He throws up the first shot and misses. My heart sinks. He has one more chance. His dad and I throw up a few prayers, cross our fingers, and stand there helpless. His second shot goes up, rattles around, and goes IN! What??? Did I see that right? He is all smiles and being hugged by his teammates on the court. His teammates in the stands are jumping up and down, yelling, high fives all around, and this mom... this mom cries. These seventh grade boys brought me to tears. Some of them have spent days in my home and others I have never met, but I would have hugged every single one of them if given the chance in that moment. They rallied around my son and supported him. I have no doubt they would have supported him had he missed the shot as well.

I am not sure if this moment will be one of those memories my son will keep tucked away for years to come, but I do know it will stay with me. This moment is one that shows how amazing youth sports can be. How amazing people can be. We always hear the negative stories and about the crazy parents or crazy coaches, but we rarely hear the positive. We are constantly bombarded with the bad being done in the world. This showed me there is so much good.

Have a great weekend and I hope you get to experience those amazing moments as well. Share them with everyone you know. I would love to hear about them. I will share them for you if you want! Email me with your positive stories so we can show what is great about youth sports! Send them to blpinkham@beyond-coaching.net

I cannot wait to hear from you!