It's the beginning of 'Field day' week. I have to admit that there's a huge sense of anticipation for me. I LOVE track and field. After coaching it for 15 years, it becomes a bit of a way of life, if not a bit of an obsession. Not coaching it now is difficult for me. I find myself often wandering over to classes doing their running practice, to the gym during a high jump practice after school, or just to watch a class through the window as they prepare.
I wasn't a stellar athlete as a kid myself, so what was it that kept me coming back for more? The challenge, the team atmosphere, and the encouragement to develop and improve. Fast forward many years to now. I've heard of so many tough stories of kids who hate field day. For every kid with a ribbon, there are plenty more who don't have any, and that is difficult, especially for the sensitive, or driven/competitive child.
Coming in to my second field day at Covenant, I am so grateful to the many people who have structured how we do field day. I LOVE the way we celebrate this event. Cross-grade teams, cheers, support, standards instead of ribbons for achievement, not specific placement (1st, 2nd, 3rd). It paves the way for a great day where each student can and does contribute to a team's performance and experience.
In my experience as a student and as a coach, I have never seen a student athlete grow in their ability without a heap-load of encouragement. Growth in ability also mandates that they needed to pick themselves up time and time again after multiple failures. Any of my athletes in the past who didn't know how to deal with failure were the ones who quickly abandoned the work because it was 'too hard'. We all know how important sticking to a commitment, pushing through tough times, and building resilience is in life. Surrounding kids with the encouragement of a team when the tasks get difficult is one small way we have to remind them that sticking with it and giving their absolute best is valuable. Every point counts!!
Chris Horst writes about how he watches his son navigate his field day (unsuccessfully), but then uses that experience to continue to encourage grit. http://www.dadcraft.com/developing-grit/ Our kids will experience failure, they will be discouraged, and they will want to give up. Like Chris, I pray that we will be able to find ways to help them develop character through it... to become determined, and not see the 'win' as the ultimate goal. (read his story!)
John Bloom writes about how we find many examples of people in the Bible who developed grit as central to their service. http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/true-grit I'm sure you could develop an even longer list of your own!
As we enter field day week, encourage your children to work hard, play hard, encourage well, to honour God in their best efforts in their activities, and to demonstrate grit. It's activities like these (and so many others at Covenant) that help them develop and learn to love the journey of growth that God continues to work out in each one of them daily.
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