My son is 8 years old. I believe there is a difference in a person that plays sports and an athlete. Ethan proved yesterday that he wants to become an athlete. It’s one of the proudest moment (other than scholastically <– always #1) that I have been of him. THIS IS MY OPINION ONLY! A person that plays sports, learns the technical skills of the game, how to compete, win, be a team player, ect… An athlete takes that to the next level. They don’t just work on the game, an athlete realizes that to become a great player, you must first put your mind, body, and soul first. It’s NOT all about the game; it’s about how well you can handle playing game at your peak mental and physical ability. I believe that the transformation from a player to an athlete begins with the mind. Ethan’s mind transformation began happening a few weeks ago.
His mind = determination, drive, and focus
His second of the three started yesterday with the D-1 training and therapy this morning.
His body = strengthening, conditioning, flexibility, stamina
His third transformation. The most important.
His soul = for love of the game, dream, believe, confidence, passion, greatness, accomplishment. As my favorite quote says, “The most powerful weapon on Earth is the human soul on fire.” His soul has been lit on fire and right now, he’s unstoppable. This trait alone is going to push him to achieve his dream no matter what obstacle he has to overcome.
If you know anything about Ethan, you know that he is the most laid back child ever. He does not get overly upset at anything and thus, does not get overly excited about anything. The excitement that he was feeling yesterday at D-1 was priceless. Believe me, they worked him. They started by teaching him how to correctly use his hands and arms to run then they went on to doing strength training. He had a smile on his face the whole time even when he was passed out from exhaustion, he was still smiling. He was beaming. He loves being in that environment, being pushed for greatness. And how I know about his excitement other than while he was there?? This usually quiet child talked my head off all the way home.
Therapy day 1: More strength training focused on his calf muscles and a little on the thigh. He was able to do 44 side jumps in 30 seconds. We will stretch at home. He was a little weak today in therapy.
Day 2 of therapy is tomorrow and with any luck, we can go back to D-1.
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