ohh, wil...
this is our 3rd year to enjoy the darlington lacrosse season and as it comes to a close this weekend, we are reflecting. and as it seems, so is wil. the first year he played, the team consisted of 6th graders for the most part. i think they were into all of the cool accoutrements more than the actual sport. but they practiced diligently and they improved. all while trading parts for their lacrosse sticks and learning how to restring a lacrosse head in the newest, coolest way. their first season, they scored 2 goals...all season. this year we have only lost 3 matches and have been called "one of the best middle school teams around".
last friday night, before the 3 game marathon day, wil watched "the blind side". he has not wanted to see this movie for some reason. em had seen it and talked him into watching it with her. if you know them, there is no telling how that conversation went down...i'm sure someone bribed someone and then they watched the movie. and wil lost his mind. pb compares the experience that wil had to his own as a kid after seeing "hoosiers" or even more impressive, "footloose". pb was "changed" by the experiences and when wil took the field on saturday, he was a changed man too.
as i mentioned before, wil is a very cautious player. he stays in his comfort zone and guards the man that he is appointed to guard. he said that when he was out there on the field this past saturday, he just kept thinking about that movie and how anything he did or didn't do to play his part, would affect his team. i think i hear angels...
so he seized the moment as a changed man and went after his man like a good defender with the coolest stick should. his aggression may have sent him to the penalty box, but everyone cheered. that is just the kind of team and coach he has. they are good kids. and we were cheering louder than anybody...
it doesn't really matter how many pep talks you hear or how many times you hear that there is no "i" in team. until you get it, you don't really understand how important it is that you do your part. it's way cool to have the latest stick or most awesome gloves but until you have that "hoosier" or for some, that "footloose" moment, you don't really get it.
as we end this 8th grade year, we just have to smile at all that wil has done and said. oh to be 14 again and have the life of wil...not a care in the world, loving school, loving his friends, loving life. and we imagine that when he laid down in bed saturday night, he reflected on his play that "saved the day"... and his new favorite movie, "the blind side".
this is true. i no someone bribed him and when someone asked him about it he had some lame accsue.but that movie did change wil. im sure he thinks about what it would be like if that team did not have him. and then he secretly boasts about it to himself. love u mean it wil:) stay classy!
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