Field Hockey Optimism

Emma played field hockey for the 2nd year, on a team of 7th and 8th graders in our local rec league. Some of the girls are very good and play throughout the year, but the rest are like Emma and do this casually. Our town has a handful of teams with mixed skills levels. The issue is that we play teams from other areas that have had leagues for a long time with lots of girls with lots of skill.

I had forgotten what an optimist our oldest was, but as I watched her go through this field hockey season it became obvious. Emma's team won one game and had a few close games, but wound up out-played and losing, but the majority were blow-outs. After each game Emma would be frustrated but also confident that her team could have won. When she gets on the field she gets out there to win, and if they lose she wants to get back out there and try again.

Yes, Molly it that much taller than Emma!

Emma really enjoys playing and likes being on a team. This year she was especially glad to be on a team with her good friend Molly, who lives across the street. Neither of them was a star of the team but they held their own and improved as the year went on. Emma seems to have a sense of her potential as a good player and I think if we were able to really commit to the sport that she could excel. But with everything on her plate something has to give. She already had piano, scouts, and religious ed on her schedule when she joined field hockey and therefor could only make it to one practice each week instead of both. It was tough to watch them experience some of the bigger loses ( 0-6, 0-5, etc.) and sometimes it was hard for Emma to acknowledge that some of these teams were just better than they were and it had nothing to do with a bad call or fluke goals. Emma just believes that it is always possible for them to win. I wondered though if Em realized that these teams run regulary and practice frequently, and should be given credit for their effort.

Right now I don't think Emma connects the fact that hard work really makes an impact and contributes to the likelihood of success. I hope that as she matures she will pair her optimism with the industriousness to do the work to help ensure that the could becomes more probable.  As she decides what activities to stick with I hope that she'll get to experience the sweet reward of putting in the effort and have it pay off. So many people fall victim to cynicism in the face of frustration, I pray Emma holds onto her undaunted optimism. It is refreshing.