Day: September 13, 2015

I was listening to Colts QB Andrew Luck and his father talk about the role parenting played in Luck’s growth as a player. I did what I think any parent does in that situation: I compared my behaviors to what the Luck family did. What I learned is that I need to take yet another step back as a parent and stop flying around my kids with that propeller over my head.

For me the helicopter rotors jut out more in football than anything else. I still coach my boys in flag, but in tackle they have another HC. The problem, as I’ve discussed in the past, is that the coach is also coaching a H.S. team, which means that though his heart is with the team, his responsibilities are taxing. I know a little bit about that part of things.

What I need to do is disconnect from pressuring the boys to learn from me in addition to coach. Papa Luck said that he didn’t think his son wanted ‘That Dad’ and went on to suggest he didn’t think his son wanted to be dealing with coaches all day long and come home only to be lectured by a parent about the same stuff. So, I’m stepping back.

In Theory. Practice remains a difficult trade.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. Still a lot of roster tuning happening prior to kickoff. I picked up Percy Harvin as a stash player, thinking the mercurial wideout might be on the way to getting it together.

I gave the boys the option to stay up all night playing games. They took it, of course, winding towards 10 PM full of energy and desire. It is way past that hour now and only one remains conscious. Way to go for him, because I’m flagging. It was a special night for us.

Tonight marks the end of the summer in-between season–a season where there aren’t any sports to be played on Saturdays (or watched for that matter). Next week is the first of 7 consecutive double and triple-headers, leading into the winter break. We go hard with soccer and tackle football before breaking for our first post-divorce holiday season (more on that once I wrap my head around it).

The night went well overall, and it is really fun to sit down with the boys and live in their reality if only for a few moments. I’m learning that it is as important for them to live in my reality from time to time, and really get to know who I am outside of being a parent. They are boys who I expect to grow into good men, and I still feel like I am the one best qualified to teach them what that means.

Some Thoughts:

1. 5 weeks in and the kittens are adorable… and my office stinks. 5 more weeks till reclamation.
2. Iowa finally got past Iowa State, which means my Cyclones must fully embrace the suck this season.