Dad brag

My son’s 9th-grade track season ended last night with his team winning the Little Six Conference. Needless to say, the boys were very excited (I have some great photos of them posing with the trophy). They’re good kids who worked hard. It was fun seeing them get their moment.

And while I try not to talk about my kids much on Facebook (they hate it), I am going to give a dad-brag shout-out to my son. He came into the season with a hip injury. He struggled with some early practices but I saw something click around the second week. He told me that he was no longer going to worry about what was next in practice but would focus on what he was doing at the moment and give 100% while doing it. He listened to his coaches and relied on his teammates to push him. They also were pushed by him (one young man, who excels both athletically and academically, pushed him in particular. My son has serious respect for him — and he should. He had a great season, too. They have a great future running together).

The hard work paid off. He ran the 1600 meters (mile) and the 800 meters this season. He competed in 10 individual races total and won 10. (His team also ran a relay yesterday and they came in a close second). In process he broke the 9th grade record for both events. He ran one mile under five minutes and ran several right at 5 with winds up to 20 mph (the weather was weird this year). He’s a strong kid and an excellent runner.

He now moves up to Varsity where he’ll face some tough competition. It will make him better. Competition always does.

I’ve already bragged more than he will — and I love that about him. He’s driven by faith and his love of his sport (and he is competitive as Heck, too). Like his brothers, his attitude and effort are impressive.

Yeah, I’m happy that he won. But I’m more happy that he has skills that’ll help him survive in the wild. His mother and I are very, very proud.