Get Your Ticket

The Importance of Attending your Child’s Events

I remember the coach gathering us in a tight circle.  It was 8^th grade basketball, at home against a cross town rival.  Just a few seconds remained and we were down by 2 with the ball.  I played point guard on the team and was one of the better players (at least in my mind).  My idol growing up was Larry Bird, so suffice it to say I developed a mean three point shot.  The coach grabbed the clipboard and drew out the play.  I was supposed to bring the ball up to the top of the key, kick it out to the left wing, and run down the lane.  One of our bigs would rotate over and set the screen on my defender as I stopped my run down the lane, reversed course, and headed back to the top of the key.  The play worked to perfection.  As I ran back to the top of the key, I curled around, received the ball back from the wing, and launched a shot just before the buzzer.  The ball quickly went through the bottom of the net as time expired.  The crowd erupted in cheers and my teammates went nuts.  We had won the game, and my shot had done it!  I also remember one other aspect of that day.  When I looked up in the crowd I realized that my parents had not been there to see it.  I later tried to convey to them the feelings and emotions of the moment, but it just wasn’t the same.  As you can see, to this day, I still remember the fact they didn’t get to see this great moment in my young life.

Fast forward to this past weekend.  My daughter’s high school track team advanced to the Virginia state indoor championships.  She’s a sophomore and this is her first season competing in track so she was slotted to be an alternate on the team for this particular meet.  She did play a role in helping them win the district and regional championships the prior weeks.  There have been times in the past where she wasn’t necessarily expected to run a race but the coach changed his mind and inserted her at the last moment.  Of course I had this in my mind when deciding whether we should drive 2.5 hours to go to the meet or not.  But, I also probably thought about that three pointer too, at least subconsciously.  What if we didn’t go?  Sure, it would be easier to stay at the house and hear about what happened after the fact.  But, what if we didn’t go and she DID get a chance to run at States?  What if they won their heat in dramatic fashion?  Even if they didn’t win the overall event, maybe the heat was an amazing story in itself?  Who knows what might have happened?  That’s precisely why we DID end up going to the meet.  It’s important that you make the effort to be there for them, regardless of expectations.  We ended up going, her team won the State championship, and we had the sweet reward of saying we were there to experience it with her.  This was a big moment in her life and we were there.

I don’t believe this only applies to major events either.  I follow the same approach in all aspects of their extracurricular activities.  For instance, I’m one of the few parents that will stick around at my daughters’ practices.  I’m not there to make sure the coach is coaching the right way, or to make sure my daughter is developing quick enough, or to check to see if she’s putting in the effort.  I’m just there to support her.  Show her that I’m there for her.  That I care and that I’m interested.

And, for good or bad, I’m all in.  I remember a recent time during soccer practice.  I was sitting in the bleachers watching as they went through their drills.  All of the sudden the skies opened up and it started dumping rain.  They shrieked a little but kept on running their drills (no lightning, no problem).  Well, I wasn’t about to go run to the car and seek shelter.  She didn’t have that option.  I sat there and got drenched right along with her and her team.  If you’re going to be a wet mess when you are done at practice, so am I!  I may have looked foolish sitting there in the bleachers with no jacket and no umbrella getting soaked by torrential rains but…I was there.