Last fall we told both Sam and Perrin that they needed to engage in activities out of the house, under an authority (a coach, class, job) for 12-15 hours a week. Perrin chose volley ball and found that it was her best year yet and she loved being part of a team. Sam on the other hand chose going to CrossFit in the morning and boxing in the afternoon. I was pretty impressed with his commitment to get up in the mornings and then hit the gym again in the afternoon. He was a fit little fella. When Volleyball ended Perrin decided to join CrossFit and work on Coconuteez with Nohaemi as her commitment. Great.
Sam decided he didn’t like working out at a gym and decided to join basketball. Other than a few pick up games with friends and shooting at the neighbors house, he hadn’t played much ball. He tried out and gladly joined the JV team at the Oaks. Practice was 3-4 times a week, with games later in the season. The first week Sam came home a little disheartened as he realized how much he didn’t know about the game. I guess there’s a bunch of “plays” you’re supposed to know, and he didn’t know any of them. His first game he didn’t start but got in part way through the first or second quarter. He ran fast but it was pretty clear he was a little intimidated as to what to do.
A couple of games into the season, the coach came up to me and mentioned how great it was to have Sam playing. He was impressed to see him improve so rapidly but was hoping Sam would be a little more “aggressive” in his play.
Watching Sam play basketball, once he got comfortable on the court, was such a delight. He almost always had a smile on his face. He was encouraging to the other players and looked like he was just enjoying the game. In my opinion that was a win. By the end of the season he was swinging up to Varsity and being asked to play more and more. He commented that he liked playing JV because it was fun and Varsity was all about winning, which took the fun out of it for him.
I love that about Sam. He’s not a competitive guy, except with his sister, and he enjoys being around people. One night after a JV game, Sam asked if he could take the truck and bring a bunch of the Freshman and sophomores out for dinner with him. As many of his teammates were lower class men, we’ve even seen a melding of Perrin’s friends and Sam’s friends, which is something welcomed and encouraged.
I am so proud of Sam for stepping into something that was an unknown, where he was the new kid on the block, and for sticking with it. I think he learned the valuable lesson of play, hard work and teamwork really can be fun.
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