The Player, Part II

Several great comments about running in the post below... My son did try cross-country a year ago. All of the local elementary schools have this program in the fall. My son had a funny running style, almost a hop-skip-run kind of form. Even the PE teacher told us it was rather odd and we should get him checked out for hip problems. But in the past year he's outgrown it and actually runs quite fast now, stretching his legs out in a full stride. He just doesn't like to go long distances, so maybe he'll be a short track star.



Here's a picture of him at the all-district meet at the end of the season. We were absolutely ecstatic that he passed that kid in front of him to finish second to last. Sorry kid, but my son finished last at every other race he ran, and we wanted him to finally beat somebody!

I'll never forget the sixth-grade girl who was helping to coach my son's first-grade team... She ran the whole race beside him, shouting encouragement and pushing him on to the finish line when his side and muscles were aching. I made a point to find her mother and tell her what a wonderful deed her daughter did for my son.

He didn't want to do cross-country this past fall, and that was fine. His big accomplishment last September was learning to ride his bike. One day he was crying "I'll never learn to do this, it's impossible!" and the very next day something clicked and he did it. I'll never forget the smile on his face when he realized that it was possible. I took a picture of him that day and it's hanging on the wall. Great moment.