The happy days: Olivia and Louis Graham have fun in this summer's Tball and Little League baseball.
My 8-year-old son wants to play tackle football in the fall, and I’m overwhelmed.
Growing up in a small town, I signed up for the softball team or the basketball team whenever the season rolled around. There was no choice.
Raising kids in Tulsa, there is a plethora of leagues, teams and clubs that confounds someone on the outside.
There isn’t a good place to determine whether a certain league is the right fit for a kid.
When we first entered the baseball arena, it was a difficult and disappointing experience ending with my son hating the idea of ever donning a baseball mitt. He was in first grade.
This summer, we tried a different league and seemingly won the lottery being placed on a team coached by Bobby Briggs, who will forever be remembered in good favor.
Coach Briggs has a way of reading each kid, encouraging when needed and being old-school tough guy when necessary. His practices seemed more like camps, with parents expected to help out.
He had a smile even in 105 degree heat, never yelled in anger, made sure all kids played and put sportsmanship and team cooperation as a No. 1 priority.
My son fell in love the sport, never wanting to miss a practice or game. He’s not going to be on an All-Star team anytime soon, but the little improvements he has made are major.
More importantly, he had fun, wasn’t overly concerned with a win/loss record and wants to play again.
That comes from the tone set by a coach.
Trying to find that experience in another sport is daunting.
One football league website had four misspellings on its homepage, so that’s out. Another seemed way beyond my son’s level. Yet another seemed below what he wants to do.
My Tulsa World colleague and fellow blogger, Rod Walton, has coached about 85 various teams in about 880 games. That might be an exaggeration, but his vast experience makes me listen to his wisdom.
He said it doesn’t really matter what team a kid ends up on, it comes down to the parents who volunteer. At some point, kids will gravitate to what they really like, and as parents we are there to encourage.
Seems like good advice.
So, now I’m back to finding that right football squad.
