Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE Sports! I have passed this love on to my kids, in some ways they had little choice as I always had and still have it on my TV. Although I admit I don’t always show great sportsmanship…I tried very hard to instill in my kids that sports teaches you about passion, sportsmanship and teamwork.
Mark and I decided we wanted to get Peyton started into some sort of sport. We were looking for one where he was playing in a team scenario, but was also an individual effort. Our answer came to us after Peyton went with his Youth group and bowled, and he did really well!
I called around and found a league, I was thrilled to find out that it was a mix of special need and non-special needs. I signed Peyton up and we started practicing! He at first struggled with the etiquette of the game, but in time we worked through those issues. We had issues with him learning to throw not roll, but in time with practice and patience he is getting it!
Our goal with the bowling was not as much to get him to be a great bowler, although we stress with him to do the best he can. Our goal was for him to have fun, socialize,and to learn life lessons. Peyton has accomplished this as well as earned some money for college! Mark and I looked at this as a way to teach Peyton about life lessons. My Dad was big on life lessons and I have tried to teach my kids these as well. Life can be hard and many times not fair. Bowling can be the same way. You throw the ball perfect, you are sure you will get a strike and instead that one pin stays standing! While this is frustrating there are lessons in it. Many times we try and try and one obstacle just keeps challenging us. I love having Peyton in a bowling league, his personal production is important, yet at the same time he has two other teammates, who scores are important. He has learned to be supportive of them as well, just as in life you need to be there for others. Another life lesson is that of patience and practice. While Bowling may seem to those who have never bowled that it is easy, it isn’t. Peyton learned quickly that it takes practice, he has spent time in our backyard, throwing a small basket ball at empty creamer bottles, that are weighted with water. Actually, this too is a life lesson as it teaches him to improvise with what is available to him. Life doesn’t always go as planned and we aren’t always handed solutions. As I mentioned earlier in my blog, we went through some issues with bowling etiquette. Peyton wasn’t aware of others around him and would just walk up and bowl. We had a long talk with him, about being rude and disrespectful of others feelings and space.I think this life lesson is one of the best he has gotten from bowling. Too often in society we have lost manners and decency and bowling etiquette is a great way to learn respect for others and their place,on this planet we call home.
