I’m going to take a brief moment to rant about 8 yr olds being treated like they are the world’s next greatest athletes. There is a kid who already has a scholarship, several actually. There is a kid with an Under Armour contract and muscles so defined that I have to wonder if the daily work will in fact stunt his growth. People are legit doing the Batman level training (Robin, actually) with their kids. It is a serious thing for a lot of adults to train their kids to the point of physical peak. I train my kids, but not at that level. I try to expose them to different sports and push them towards a life of being active and fit. I want them to not be couch pirates like their pop has become. They’ve been engaged in a number of sports and opportunities for awards and experiences.
This all leads to today’s wrestling tourney where my mid kid took 3rd. He wanted first and is dissatisfied by the medal. This is entirely my fault as I have pushed him to the point where he feels winning is the only option. Maybe that is a message to me to help him learn how to enjoy the sport more than simply be all about the win.
Winning is awesome, but so is the game. Enjoy the opportunity to experience it.