When Kids Set an Example

Yesterday, my son James was in a basketball tournament.  He usually plays with the 8 - 9 yr olds but because he is a little short for his age, one of his coaches asked him, along with another small 8 yr old to play with the 6 - 7 yr olds because they were missing players.  The other kid decided to take advantage of the situation and score basket after basket.  No passing...just driving to the net.  My son on the other hand, without any prodding from me, put the personal statistics aside and would pass the ball off to the less gifted players even when an easy score was available to himself.   Younger kids who usually just get to run around and never touch the ball were, for the first time, made to feel part of a team.  Although, they missed most of their shots, James would still pass to them and not let them give up.

My son's team did not win the tournament and yes, perhaps they would have had he been a little more selfish and scored the sure baskets himself.  However, despite the loss, I felt increadibly proud having so many people come up to me and my son saying how glad they were that James had been there.  Some of the kids looked like they were ready to quit but my son made it fun for them again.

No son...you are not a loser.  You are a bigger winner than you will ever know!