My family (ies) spent time in Phoenix, Arizona this past Presidents Weekend playing in a Hockey Tournament.
After a rather rough start with the accommodations, we settled into a fine routine of Hockey, Recreating, Shopping and Training.
Nothing big as far as the training is concerned, but because we had a bunch of nice clean machines of various sorts to play with, April and I did those.
It was kind of nice to see what all the complaining is in the commercial gym setting with the variety of players. I was naming them one by one. (I'll save that for another entry)
Having been a member of Team EliteFTS for over a decade has many rewards, one of them being that most gyms will "comp" April and I. Not that I am opposed to paying for a Guest Pass, but someone usually will ask..."Hey aren't you...." To which I respond, No, but I get that a lot. hahahahaha
We got home fairly late last night as California's air travel was turned into a Great Adventure/Six Flags kind of ride, with the wind and rain turbulence. It wouldn't have been so bad had we not a Teenage Girl Swim Team riding with us. God, I so despise pubescent nymphettes. I never realized how irritating the nervous laughter and non stop chatter can be.
Ahhh, I digress....
Anyway, our Santa Clara Blackhawk Squirt Team took second place in a large, well run tournament. My son and his buddies played incredible hockey for such youth. Skill, toughness, and tenacity were all wonderfully displayed.
Upon the Championship game where the Shots on goal was 22-21 and the final score 3-2 we came out as the "First Loser". Our team could have tied on a .1 second wrap around shot by Hunter's aggressive man down defensive play. One ref called it IN while the other waved it off. Needless to say, our kids were devastated, especially after an over time win with a similar play the night before by one of the most talented and NICE kids Hunter has had the luxury of playing with. (I'll call him Max, because THAT'S his name)
After the medal ceremony and changing into his street clothes, Hunter and I have a tradition of walking out to meet his mom together. Half way down the hall, Hunter turns to me with tears in his eye and hands me his Silver Medal. He said, "Dad, take this and throw it out. I never want to see it again. I don't want to be reminded that I'm a FIRST LOSER" (He pays attention to my off ice diatribes and gym talk).
I stopped him right there, pulling him into the corner before we opened the door to the lobby and told him:
HEY! You can cry. I'm ok with that. It shows me that you have PASSION! Dave Tate will tell you "Passion trumps EVERYTHING". However, you need to clear your eyes quickly, because we are going out to meet a lot of people and my son doesn't have leaky eyes in front of anyone else but ME! We need to be other's strength, ESPECIALLY when the others are losing it!
Next, I will NOT throw that silver medal out. In fact I will prominently display it as a reminder. A reminder that no matter how hard you THINK you're trying, someone else is trying harder!
Last yet most important for you NOT to lose sight of, is that there is only ONE, ONE motherfucking team (yes, I speak to my son like that because he will hear from someone else and he WON'T be surprised) that was better than you guys, making ALL the other ones pale in comparison.
First loser? I think NOT! You fellas played your balls off. You rode an emotional rollercoaster most people will NEVER get the opportunity to do. What an exciting time we had. You have experienced more in ten years that will last the next 100.
First loser? NO WAY! Teamwork, lessons, laughter, this tournament had it all!!!!
He cleared his eyes, picked his chin up and walked through the doors into the lobby to be greeted by other parents AND most importantly his Mom with dignity.
Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser. You shouldn't LIKE to lose. But such is life. There will be winners and losers. There were no medals for participation. Gold, Silver and Bronze (we don't know who won that nor do we care)
But in the event you don't WIN, you better do it with dignity and pride, and take a lesson or two or three away from it.
His defensive line mate, Evan was such a Ewokian stud. The other defensive players, Eli and Julian were equal to Hunter and Evan.
I will say it over and over:
Offense draws the crowd; Defense wins Championships and medals
Our D may not score many points, but neither will the other team.
Max and Aiden are Puck sucking, stick handling marvels at such a tender age that it is ridiculous how they will advance as they get older. Their "Wings" are certainly ready to FLY!
Youth sports! Making Dadding simple.
WTF!??!?!
=)