My wife and I learned something very early about our youngest. If we didn't keep him busy, we were in trouble. Drew was blessed with an extra dose of energy, initiative, and drive. Great if you are an entrepreneur, not so great in a young boy soon to be a man- full of testosterone and spit. When he was in sports, everything was fine. When the season was over, we found ourselves driving all around town to malls and sports shops to buy action figures, basketball cards, or whatever the next hobby or craze demanded. Actually this was true for both of our boys.
We devised a very simple plan-- keep them in sports. As many sports as they could stand-- and it worked. By the time they got home from practice they was too tired for anything except studying, snacks, and bed.
The beautiful thing about youth sports was that they were such a constructive way to siphon off all that extra energy. Energy that could have been misspent left un-channeled. Nothing good comes from boredom. It's said that idle hands are the devil's workshop.
We were so committed to this plan, that for Drew in particular, it require drastic action. When he hit Junior High hit, it was necessary to switch him to public school. Private Christian education was great for the kids in their younger and formative years, but as they grew, their needs outgrew the old situation. What we needed for the boys was plenty of "high impact" physical challenge, and the public school system provided that, with an unexpected bonus.
Not only were the boys getting great outlets for their high energy and testosterone, but they found several excellent role models in the coaches. Both boys were deeply influenced by Christian coaches they played for. They also got in bible studies with his friends from the teams and found excellent discipleship opportunities.
Their very best Christian friends were those they played with on team, and their most influential teachers were their coaches- and we were pretty excited about that. Several of Drew's football coaches were some of the finest examples of Christian manhood that I can think of.
And they learned lessons that will last them a lifetime. We still have fun sitting around laughing about "coachisms", like their favorite:
"When the sweat is running down the crack of your rear, you got to rise above it."
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