Hershey Meet

When I first heard of the Hershey Meet I thought, now there is something I could compete in - I am pretty confident I could make a real good showing in any contest featuring chocolate. But of course, as I am sure you all know, Hershey sponsors Track Meets for children and other than giving them quite a nice stash of candy at the state meet it really doesn't have anything to do with chocolate. Despite that, they are still a really good thing.

I think it is awesome that these kids have the opportunity to compete first against their local area, their district, the state and even the nation. It provides them with an opportunity to try something new, it gives them a chance to shine. I really think kids today need that, they need to know they can succeed- they need to feel like they are good, maybe even the best at something. Of course that is not going to be track or even sports for many of the children, but it is one opportunity to find out. There needs to be similar competition in a wide variety of activities.

OK be forewarned, here I go on a tangent, so just skip ahead a few paragraphs to get back to the Hershey Track meet.

I think today society spends a lot of time being politically correct and trying to protect children by making sure no one fails or that "no child is left behind". I think that more than protecting children this is keeping children from getting the opportunity to get ahead. They are keeping all the kids in a tight little pack teaching them that they are all equal - no one is less than and therefore no one is more than anyone else. While I believe that it goes without saying that children need to know that as a person they are just as valuable as any other person who walks the earth, I believe they also need to learn that they are an individual with unique talents, skills and aptitudes. I think it is okay for them to know they will not be good at everything, they may not be as beautiful as the girl next door, or as smart as the boy in their science class, or as athletic as the kid down the street. They may not be a lot of things - but they are "something" their job is to figure out what it is and go with it. Instead of agonizing over what we don't have or aren't good at we need to find what we do have and capitalize on that. Along with that we need to teach our children to celebrate in other peoples successes instead of taking it as a personal afront.

I believe that one of the most important things a parent can do for their child is to provide them with enough experiences in a variety of areas that they can find what it is they are passionate about, what it is they excel at, what is their "thing" that they can lead the pack in. I believe that there is something out there for every single child. But I also believe that to often we are too afraid of our children feeling like failures that we keep them from succeeding. Failing is an important part of succeeding, in fact it is critical. I recently read a blog that talked about if you aren't failing then you are not pushing your abilities to the edge of the envelope, and if you are not at the edge you are not stretching yourself. (http://wilshipley.com/blog/2005/11/failure-is-success.html) Real success comes when you push yourself beyond your perceived breaking point and realize you didn't break. Each one of those little "realizations' enables us to view our breaking point just a little higher. As we look up we should set our sights on the plateaus that seem unreachable, but as we climb and turn around and look down we realize that those same plateaus were simply stepping stones.


The Hershey Track meet has given my children this kind of experience. Last night Taylor competed in the district track meet. This was not his first district meet, last year he took first at district. In fact last year his district jump would have gotten him around 4th in nationals. He was really good, he knew he was really good. He went in to State a little over confident and unprepared, he scratched once and fell back twice. He thought no problem I'll just do it next year. This year came along and while he still has those same amazing jumping legs he has also had another birthday. Last year he was at the top of his age bracket. This year he is at the very bottom. He has had to fight for every win. He has fought.

At the local meet last year, his very first jump ever he almost hit 6 feet. The measuring official turned to me kind of raised his eyebrows and said, wow - that was good, real good. The rest of the boys were in the 4 1/2- 5 ft range. So I set my sights on 6 feet. The next jump put him there. At that point I knew he had something. I started talking to him about practicing and learning "how" to jump. At first he resisted but soon he was out in the backyard swinging those arms jumping over and over again. He spent hours on the trampoline building up his leg muscles. He was pushing for that 1/2 inch more than the last jump. Well he has 1/2 inched his way up.

As he got in line last night I couldn't help but notice the other boys, some a whole head taller than him and much more filled out. I noticed the girls in that age group. Puberty has obviously found its way into the lives of some of these kids he is now grouped with - it scared me, in a lot of ways. He was followed by a pretty big boy. I saw the disbelief and shock in his eyes when the jump was marked at 7 foot. 7 foot a plateau we had never seen reached before at any meet he had participated in. It only got worse a 7 foot 2 jump, another 7. We were with the big boys now. Taylor responded by pushing it a bit harder each time. 6 71/2 and then 6 10 1/2. His final jump was good I could tell it was, he could tell it was. It was marked and read. 7 foot. When I heard the official I was excited and proud but when I turned to Taylor and our eyes meet I was overcome. It was a look of shock, disbelief and pride all at once. He did it. He hit 7, a mark he never thought he would. He did what thought he couldn't do. On the tape the mark at 6 101/2 may not be that far from the 7. But in his head it was.

While we were waiting for the results he asked me if I thought he would get in the top 3. I told him, "I really don't know, it will be close but does it matter." "No" he said shaking his head. "I jumped 7".