Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for the people who have high expectations for the kids they interact with (including mine) and teach them how to commit to those expectations. Nick's basketball coach was a great example of that. He raised the expectations for these boys beyond what any other coach has done (for a 5th & 6th grade team) including all the running drills during practice. If you would've told these boys about all these drills they probably all would've said they couldn't do it...but they all did! He also wouldn't ever let them walk on or off the court, over to huddle up during time outs, or up and down the court during play. If they weren't hustling, the weren't trying. He was a very passionate coach and got VERY into the games, but I appreciated him holding them to a higher level and teaching them about commitment to that level.

Because of that, I've noticed a different kind of confidence in Nick. Last summer he and I ran a couple of 5k fun runs and we're planning on doing a couple more this year. Last year he was satisfied with doing a run/walk but this year he is committed to running the whole thing. We went out for our first run of the season a couple nights ago and we follow this program that helps us work up into running longer distances. Because he is in such good shape from basketball season and because he's no longer satisfied with "good enough" he pushed himself to run more than what he normally would have in that 30 minute training cycle. So, I'm thankful for a man who pushed my son into making fewer excuses for why he can't do something and has gained the confidence to just do it!