Learning How To Get Back Up

I was never a particularly tough child. I remember complaining and crying when I got hurt and not wanting to push through minor injuries when participating in sports or playing with friends. While not as bad as some that I can remember, I was by no means a tough child. I learned how and enjoyed pushing through injuries later in my youth but it took some time and a bit of determination to overcome the weaknesses I had when I was smaller (I can’t say that I was ever actually ‘small’).

Over the years however, I have built up a tolerance for pain that is a bit baffling to some and considered stupid by others. From broken bones and dislocated joints to kidney stones and fighting Fibromyalgia, I have experienced all kinds of pain and only stopped when it was preventing me from living. I’ve set bones, popped joints back into place, put duct tape over large cuts, and simply walked things off when they really started to hurt. Up to that point I would keep pushing and pushing until finally I had no other choice than to give in and let myself heal. Of course, for the truly minor things like bad ankle sprains, dislocations, cold/flu, and migraines it was better to keep going and work my way through them.

This is the kind of thing that I want to instill in my son. Not to the extent that I have taken it but I don’t want him to let the small things stop him. Bumps and bruises are a part of living life especially when you are young and I want our son to enjoy every moment of growing up while he can. With that said, we have to do our part to let him fall and let him scrape his knees so that he can learn that it really isn’t that bad. Of course, we will always be there when he needs us but some things he is going to have to learn just by doing and experiencing.

All that we can really do is guide him and try to set him up for the long life ahead of him. Bumps (and bruises) are just minor things that happen along the way but you can just stop everything that you are doing when they happen. Life is still going on around you and if you take a break, there are potential memories that you will be missing. I guess you could say that I want to make sure that we instill in our son adversity as it has served us both incredibly well in our own lives. Hopefully we can get that message through to him early on… the same lesson that my parents tried teaching me which didn’t take hold until much later in my life.

Today From The WTF Files: “Silent Cheer Day”

Don't snore! It could be too loud and you might offend someone.

A big part of sports is the cheering, booing, and everything in between. This aspect of athletics only becomes more prominent as we get older and we can’t be the ones in the competition. Just go to any baseball, football, hockey, or basketball game and you know exactly what I am talking about. For those outside the U.S. think rugby or soccer.

When I was younger I can remember my parents on the cold uncomfortable metal bleachers just beyond the dugout cheering on the rare occasion when I actually showed some semblance of athletic ability. Albeit a rare occurrence I had a few moments. Most people know that feeling of those moments (some more some less) when they can hear the cheers of their team mates and family ringing in their ears. It is a part of growing up and it motivates you to try and get better.

On the flip side, we all know that feeling when we let our team down. I remember many long hits given up when I could see hear the cheers against me and see the faces of my team mates as they did whatever they could to minimize the damage. Even those moments can prove to be formative ones as you bear down, move on, and focus on turning things around. Learning how to deal with a little adversity is a great thing growing up. In many respects it is a better learning tool than the moments of glory.

In both of these instances the roar of the crowd for or against is the fuel that is needed to succeed the next time around. But what if there weren’t any cheers? What if parents were penalized for cheering? I know, that is just crazy talk and things would never become so screwy that something like that would ever happen. Right?

Think again. The notion of “Silent Cheer Day” has been around for probably 20 years in one incarnation or another and every once in a while a story pops up to remind us all of the quality ideas coming out of California. I know, it sounds like something from the stoner Olympics (Denver 2018). This year, Idaho is in the news for implementing this mellow means of ‘you’re all special’ kind of athletics. Funny, I was certain it would have been Colorado this year. From The Coeur d' Alene Press:

“Silent Cheer Day” focused on sportsmanship and encouragement without spectators yelling negative or even positive remarks at the players or referees.

“Coaches said the kids played a little better because there was less noise,” said Post Falls recreation coordinator Justin Brown.

Brown got the notion for the silent cheer at a seminar he recently attended at the National Alliance for Youth Sports in San Diego. The goal is for parents and spectators to find less distracting ways to communicate their support for their kids, such as applause and signage, and eliminate some of the negativity that can come out during a game. If they were loud during Saturday’s games, they were given a red penalty card and sent to the penalty area for one minute.

I repeat, hearing cheers either for or against you are a means of motivation (especially when they use your name or position). Incurring such penalties, even for a day, is a ridiculous waste of time and energy. And what is it really teaching these kids? It’s not your fault if you don’t succeed, the crowd was too noisy. Give me a freaking break.

Oh, wait, I forgot. It’s a California idea. That means we can’t hold people accountable for their own actions. We can only blame those around them or some other circumstance that was out of their control. We might as well start them off early and teach them while they are young that there is always something or someone else you can blame for anything that goes wrong.

I just wish that they would start silent bitching day. Instead of forcing the rest of us to participate in this crap, how about you miss and moan silently to yourself and leave the rest of us out of it. That is a day that I will be happy to stand behind.