"Mom I made the team!" ecstatic streams coming from his bedroom. It started out innocently enough. His lacrosse coach suggested try outs for an elite travel team. We didn't give it much thought: went to the try outs, joked that there was no way he could play with these amazing athletes, congratulated him on giving it a try, and forgot about it. He made it? Thrilled, amazed, proud...but wait that means we have weekend tournaments OUT OF TOWN. Oh the bittersweet taste of acceptance.
If you have never been an athlete, or are first time parents of an athlete, the travel tournament is like reading a Kurt Vonnegrut Jr., not really sure where you are or what is going on but it all comes together in the end.
It starts with the date and list of hotels. No problem, we book a room in this very less than 5 star hotel, we schedule time off and MapQuest directions. One weekend tournament in Lewiston (terrific no need for hotel), one weekend in Albany and one weekend in Hershey PA. So the husband's not thrilled that he will miss 3 weekends on the boat, but the three us will be together and our son is excited.
Next we get the schedule, which looks like a page out of the MATRIX. A spreadsheet of 50 teams, 14 fields and 48 hours. So 6/20 11 12 38 vs 16 9 1 26 vs 38 9 3 38 vs 47 6/21 7 10 38 vs 18 8 2 48 vs 38... do I need to call Dan Brown to break this code?
Game day. Pack sandwiches, tons of water and gatorade, fruit, brownies. Program navigation system. Bring chairs, hats, umbrella, sun screen, newspaper, schedule and of course my equipped lacrosse player. Huge line to get in. I have never seen so many canopy tents and SUV's. A patchwork of boys dressed in their uniforms tossing balls to each other. My son finds his "colors" while my husband and I wonder aimlessly lugging chairs and liquids.
Oh sweet relief, we find seasoned parents. These guys know what they are doing and we have virtually attached ourselves to them. Dave and Dawn become our guru's and we follow them like apostles. First game is rocky and our boys take a loss. But they are laughing with each other and really bonding. The rest of the day continues with another loss and then a win. Not bad for a new team.
Driving home that night, the car was buzzing with referee calls, bad plays, and tales of bravado. Home that night, the house buzzed with one sleepy midfielder. Next day more of the same but with confidence from son and parents.
We did it! Albany and Hershey? Bring it!
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Free Speech for the Mature Audience
There is a large debate going on in California regarding violent video game access to minors. I have fairly strong feelings about this topic in general.
My son plays mature video games. He cannot buy or rent them by himself, which means that if he wants such a game, I have to buy it for him. Pretty much like a rated R movie. He cannot buy the ticket himself but I can buy it for him.
I am a proponent of the rating system because I want to know what has sexually explicit material or hard core violence. Then I can use that rating to determine if my son should have access. I don't prevent him form seeing things. My approach is much more to view these movies or watch these video games with him and then discuss the topic with him. Note there are some movies and video games that I have said NO to after my understanding or viewing of the content.
I think total prevention and banning are free speech violations. Personally, I do not want my books, movies or for that matter any form of expression blocked. I may not agree with the expression or format but that does not make it wrong. I do however want to be aware of what I am going to see so that I can make a conscious decision on the appropriateness for my son.
And that is where I think the real issue lies. Some parents tend to abdicate responsibility. It is much easier to let the law decide morality or to hide behind a church. It is harder to address issues with kids and explain why an action is wrong or questionable. We need to give our kids the tools to make good decisions because we cannot hide the "ugly" from them forever. Let's face it, your kids will see mature only video games or rated R movies at their friend's houses or secretly via the internet. They will be exposed to drugs and alcohol and sex and neither you, the government or the church can prevent that.
Parents need to step up and discuss tough issues with their kids. Help them learn how to make good choices and not simply rely on being TOLD what to do.
My son plays mature video games. He cannot buy or rent them by himself, which means that if he wants such a game, I have to buy it for him. Pretty much like a rated R movie. He cannot buy the ticket himself but I can buy it for him.
I am a proponent of the rating system because I want to know what has sexually explicit material or hard core violence. Then I can use that rating to determine if my son should have access. I don't prevent him form seeing things. My approach is much more to view these movies or watch these video games with him and then discuss the topic with him. Note there are some movies and video games that I have said NO to after my understanding or viewing of the content.
I think total prevention and banning are free speech violations. Personally, I do not want my books, movies or for that matter any form of expression blocked. I may not agree with the expression or format but that does not make it wrong. I do however want to be aware of what I am going to see so that I can make a conscious decision on the appropriateness for my son.
And that is where I think the real issue lies. Some parents tend to abdicate responsibility. It is much easier to let the law decide morality or to hide behind a church. It is harder to address issues with kids and explain why an action is wrong or questionable. We need to give our kids the tools to make good decisions because we cannot hide the "ugly" from them forever. Let's face it, your kids will see mature only video games or rated R movies at their friend's houses or secretly via the internet. They will be exposed to drugs and alcohol and sex and neither you, the government or the church can prevent that.
Parents need to step up and discuss tough issues with their kids. Help them learn how to make good choices and not simply rely on being TOLD what to do.
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