Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The trophy that proved me wrong...


Soccer season is over and it's bitter sweet
because it was Koen's first time playing on a team.

The Attack made for a good little group.
Koen mostly ran circles around everyone.
Literally, he would run an orbit around everyone
as they kicked the ball down the field.

That kid can run fast, too.

I hold so many memories in my heart from the season.

Like how Koen would stand up if he fell down
and just look at me with a quivering lip to see if he was okay.
 I would nod and yell "You're alright!!" from the sidelines
then he'd dust himself off and start running again. 

I'll never forget the high fives and
squeals that unfolded when he scored a goal.

I'll always remember the tender hugs of comfort
that I gave him when his team lost.

It's all really great "life" stuff.


They had a little celebration after the last game
where they handed out cupcakes and trophies.

It reminded me of this article that I wrote
a while back where I blasted participation trophies
because I felt like they were empty praise.

You know what, though?
I'm not too proud to admit when I change my mind
because Koen is so flippin' proud of his little trophy.

He says goodnight to it every single night.
He pulls it down from the shelf and carries it around the house.
It actually rode to school with us the other day.

He loves it and I'm glad that he has it.
I see how much it means to him
and I wish that I could take back
many of those words that I wrote
and make myself a little trophy that says
"You're a winner."

Because sometimes recognition feels good.

2 comments:

Roger That said...

Oh Leigh! This one I am so torn by. It does make small children feel good to get one, but as the children get older I am not sure how good of an idea it is. With that said, the kids played on leagues that everyone got a trophy and our coach also stated things about the player that were big improvements in their performance. And it definitely made the boys proud of themselves. Which is something I think everyone forgets to be proud of themselves sometimes.

Unknown said...

I think if the trophy is attached to something, like an improvement or first goal scored or whatever, it makes a real difference in the giving. But I will never agree just to give one simply because they showed up.. does that make sense.