The younger brother at basketball

Last updated on: January 24, 2014 at 10:04 am by queenb

The younger brother at basketball 2014-01-24T10:04:26-06:00 queenb

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This winter, we have dipped our toe into organized sports. It is basketball season, and the recreation center at our neighborhood school hosts youth basketball every Tuesday night. My five and six year olds are both old enough to participate this year, so we decided to give it a try. Basketball lasts just forty-five minutes and ostensibly includes a brief practice/instructional time followed by a scrimmage against the (only) other team. It is generous to call this an organized sport, which is precisely why it is perfect for us right now.

My trouble is that, of our children, my two-year old is currently the most inclined towards sports. Show the kid a ball and he wants to kick it, throw it, hit it with a bat, or tuck it under his arm and run headlong into the couch.

So, it was no surprise that on our first night of basketball, my little man piled into the minivan with a ball in his arms. When we arrived early to registration for the older two, the two year old introduced himself to the coach, rummaged through the stack of t-shirts for one that was his size, and ran onto the court with his ball under his arm, ready to practice his skills. When the coach called the participants to sit in a circle, my little man plopped right down too next to his siblings. He proceeded to howl as I carried him out of the circle over to the spectator bleachers. I could barely contain him on the bench during the forty-five minute practice (the baby was completely ignored). I achieved only mild success by encouraging him to “watch and listen to coach” so he would “learn the basketball rules.” He skeptically passed his ball to me once or twice before realizing it wasn’t getting him any closer to playing on the court.

Another Tuesday will be here before I know it, and I’ll be honest, I don’t know what to do for my little man. I want the basketball experience, however disorganized and laid-back, to be special for my older son and daughter. But, I don’t want to disappoint their younger brother so much. It is hard to see the sporting sparkle in his eyes turn to disappointment when he realizes he can’t play with the older kids. I was the oldest in my family, so I never experienced the feeling of being the younger sibling unable to play, and my heart breaks to see my son’s sadness. Surely, there is a way to ease his frustration and disappointment. For now, I’ll try the following:

~Pull out a extra t-shirt for him to wear as his “basketball shirt” when the older kids get dressed.

~Drive our crew to the gym early so that little brother can run around for a bit before the practice really starts.

~Try to set better expectations by talking during the day about “sitting and listening to coach on the bleachers so that we can learn the game and play on the team next year.”

Mother Mary, help me with your prayers. Friends, I’ll take all the suggestions I can get!

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 23, 2014

The Art of Presence

Next Post

January 27, 2014 Flying soon?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Builders' Favorite Posts Children Education & Homeschool Food and Nutrition Health Home Organization Inside Our Inbox Keeping It Real Liturgical Seasons Marriage Miscellaneous Motherhood and Parenting Nature and the Environment NFP and Fertility Politics and Current Events Pregnancy Recipes Spiritual Life The Catholic Church Thoughts for Thursday Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian movement began with John Wesley in the 18th century?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Lutheranism Calvinism Presbyterianism Methodism