From the Editor: The Complete Athlete Enjoys Many Pursuits

This article appears in our November edition. Join USA Lacrosse today to start your subscription.

As I type this column at my dining room table, I hear the rhythmic thud of an under-inflated basketball beating against the uneven pavement of our driveway. It’s a curious sound, considering we leave for middle school baseball tryouts in five minutes.

Hoops has always had hold on Hudson. Which I find funny because it’s the sport in which we as a family are the least invested. Lacrosse and flag football had their time in the sun. Soccer and baseball became year-round travel pursuits. But basketball? He plays it recreationally. In-house and pick-up, that’s it. Maybe a summer camp on occasion.

Yet ask him what sport he favors most — something we do regularly as a temperature check — and he’ll inevitably rank it No. 1. It reinforces the value of playing several sports and not specializing in just one. The complete athlete enjoys many pursuits, not just those with the clearest path to success.

We play together. Whether it’s H-O-R-S-E, Taps or 1v1, I am an active participant in our games. I recently asked Hudson to come with me to the elementary school so I could avoid noxious small talk with other parents when I picked up his younger brother. “Say less!” he exclaimed. He leapt off the couch and tossed his iPad to the ottoman.

He pines for it. I miss the seasonality of sports. You used to know it was lacrosse season when it got warm enough for your teachers to crack the classroom window and you could smell the first cut of grass. Now it never goes away. Spring leagues bleed into summer tournaments and fall ball, then winter box and indoor. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, which is why come November my 11-year-old is begging for basketball season.

Expectations are…reasonable. I’m 5-8. My wife is 5-2. No one’s holding out for a basketball scholarship. Travel? Nah, we’re good. Hudson did express interest in trying out for the middle school team, however. “I probably won’t make it,” he said. “But I want to challenge myself.” Proud dad moment.

NBA 2K. We need a lacrosse video game of this quality.

Good coaches. They prioritize development and fun over winning, set goals, plan practices, manage expectations and never deviate from the core purpose of youth sports — to get kids to fall in love with the game.