Good-bye Elementary School

My son showed me the ribbon he won at the district-wide elementary school track meet. He came in third in the long jump. After I admired his award, he smiled and said that he's going to need a trophy case soon.

Who am I to say that he isn't going to be a budding super star someday? But as he graduates from elementary school to the middle school, I am going to miss elementary competitions in intramurals. Actually, I wish more sports programs were designed like the one in our school district.

Each season brought a new sport: swimming, flag football, skiing, volleyball, track. These were the sports officially sanctioned by the school districts, but in our school, if a group of kids wanted to organize informally for an after-school sport, there was always a teacher willing to take the time to supervise. They met twice a week for at least 90 minutes each session. Nobody sat on the sidelines. Everyone exercised. Good sportsmanship was insisted on; bad sports were sent home for the afternoon. The emphasis was on having fun. The district-wide competitions were also about having fun, but it was an opportunity for the kids to get to know students from other schools. While the volleyball tournament had an actual presentation of ribbons (and a lot of school pride at stake), the other sports were more low-key. The track awards were handed out to the kids in their classrooms the last week of school. The football games were more of a chance for the kids to play on a football field, rather than an actual competition.

What I liked about this set up was the sandlot atmosphere. There were enough adults to keep order and organization, but not enough for the kids to be specifically coached. The sports were held immediately after school, on school grounds, giving parents one fewer place to run in the evening while still giving the kids a chance to be involved with a sporting activity. The kids played their games, had fun with their buddies, and could relax after an unrushed supper.

Next year, the push will begin for "real" sports, when after-school games are for kids who were picked for the team and the number of opportunities shrink. It's a new phase, and I'm sure I'll be learning about helping a young athlete deal with failure as much as I'll deal with success, if not more. But I'm going to miss the carefree chaos of hundreds of elementary school kids having a good time on the track.

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