Mikey ! A True Story of Support !
I want to tell you a true story. In fact, I actually saw this happen last night while RJ was practicing football. I truly believe I needed this to play out in front of me. I was there for a reason, Beth usually carries RJ to practice, but I did it last night! There was a high school home school team practicing when we got there. About 15-16 boys, all suited up in pads and working out. One of the boys stuck out during practice, simply because of his weight. This young man was about 5 ft 7 inches and weighed close to 400 pounds. The trouble is, I could relate to him!
During practice, the coach had the team doing wind sprints where they will run a short distance at full speed. Now this young man I am referring to's name is Mikey. How do I know that? Because the coach would yell supportive statements at Mikey while he was running. Every time, Mikey would always come in last, but he never stopped running.
Then the team went on to dreaded up/downs. I'm sure you have seen what I am talking about. It's where the boys run in place and when the coach blows the whistle, they slam themselves to the ground. When the coach blows the whistle again, you get up just as quickly. Same scenario as before, Mikey did about 1 to every other players 3, but he never stopped!
Finally it came time for the last workout of the evening...the 2 mile run! The boys would run around the baseball complex twice and that would equal out to 2 miles. As soon as the team took off running, the coach pulled Mikey off to the side and told him he only had to do it once! So off goes Mikey at the same speed as everything else he did for the evening. The rest of the team actually lapped Mikey twice, but Mikey never stopped.
When the other guys were finished, the coach told them to take off their pads and get some water. They were all holding their sides in pain, and rested for about 1 minute. The coach looked at his team and said, "You know what to do". And off the team went at full speed to catch up with Mikey.
And catch him they did! He had about a 1/4 mile left and the team slowed down and matched Mikey's speed. Form across the field all I heard was supportive and positive statements. "You can do it". "Don't give up". "We're here for you". And as they crossed the finish line, they all gave Mikey a huge, and I mean HUGE bear hug!
Mikey got to lead the closing chant, but before he started, he looked in the eyes of his team mates and said, You guys are the best!!!!!"
1,2,3...Patirots!
1,2,3...Patirots!
1,2,3...Patirots!
As the boys were leaving, I had to go and tell the coach what a great group of guys he had the privilege of leading. Then he sprung a bombshell on me....Mikey had never finished the mile run before! He always stopped and walked the remaining distance, and this was the first time the team went and helped. He gave all the credit to the support that he received from his peers!
You know what? That's what support is about! I want to be a Patriot!!!!!!
Hmmm....support, maybe. However, the poor kid probably forced himself to finish off the lap because every single one of his more fit peers were there beside him, already finished their laps, making him feel like if he didn't finish he would be a loser. Maybe I just interpreted that wrong, but I would've hated for everyone else to come run beside me when I was big and fat just because it's embarrassing to not be able to do what everyone else can do. So supportive, okay, but there's that fine line between being "just supportive" and doing it out of pity for the fat kid.
Geez, at my school they more likely would have poked fun at him (esp. when he took off his jersey for the "skins" side of the scrimmage game) .. The coach would have been downright sadistic and made him do double the stuff the other players did (thinking that would get him in shape somehow 
) or get him to quit (or probably cut him when it / he didn't ..) 
Nice to see all schools aren't like that .. (or maybe times / attitudes have changed?
)
) or get him to quit (or probably cut him when it / he didn't ..) Nice to see all schools aren't like that .. (or maybe times / attitudes have changed?
) Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "
HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )
Very inspirational story, Scott. High School kids today are much kinder that they were in my day imo. I relate this kind of support to my daughter Betsy who has downs syndrome.
Betsy was mainstreamed in school and was always very well accepted and to the best of my knowledge, was never made fun of. As a matter of fact, when she graduated from high school, she received a standing ovation from her classmates as she received her diploma. It brought tears to my eyes and truly reinforced my faith in the "next generation."
Great story.....thanks again for sharing.
Boner
Betsy was mainstreamed in school and was always very well accepted and to the best of my knowledge, was never made fun of. As a matter of fact, when she graduated from high school, she received a standing ovation from her classmates as she received her diploma. It brought tears to my eyes and truly reinforced my faith in the "next generation."
Great story.....thanks again for sharing.
Boner
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