Allowing them to shine

At the start of the new season, my son and his mates realized their basketball team had been split up again. Four boys from the old team had been paired with four new boys, and after the first training session, they realized there were two different levels of ability. As the club they play for hadn’t kept their team together for many seasons, the boys felt disheartened at once again not standing much of a chance of making it to grand final. 

The new team manager was the father of one of the new boys. My son was upset when he found out he was asking the boys to nominate who they thought the most valuable player was each week. He felt the team manager was setting the new kids up for a fall as they’re abilities were at a lower level and decided to nominate one of them each week regardless of who was best on court.

We discussed what a great opportunity this could be to allow some of the new boys to shine and boost their confidence. He decided to ask his three mates to also nominate one of them each week.

The season has only been going for a month or so and yes there is some frustration at losing each week, but I’m so proud my son for helping and caring about the other boys. What at first seemed like a tragedy has now found a new light. – Anon