Originally Posted by jayne241
It sounds like S14 also did well, even if his team didn't win it all. The important thing is to have fun and to learn good skills - physical skills, and social skills like good sportsmanship.

Yes, I agree it was a good experience for S14. Several of the dads in attendance complimented him on his play. Including some who are coaches of other age groups associated with the same organization who sponsors his team.

And it was great for him to play with people from a different background. He was the only suburban kid on an inner city team. So the culture was very different than on his local school and town travel teams. Just dealing with the other kids at practice was an education for him. Socially. Culturally. And he had to step up his game to handle the fast pace they use. he wasn't used to being on the receiving end of no look passes. Also, we played many games at inner city gyms. We were in a league based at the rec center of a low income housing project. Very eye opening for him to see the way those kids were basically the same as him but at the same time the way some of their lives differed.

When you can see it coming, duck!