Most kids play with toys. Mini-Mattis is only interested in one thing - football. There are at least three of his footballs (that I know of) missing from this photo. (September 2006)

2006.09.18

Mini-Mattis carries the football.

In the past decade, I have coached various sports and various age groups. I have coached every group from 5-year-old boys to 50-year-old grandmas. I have coached in rural areas and the inner city. I have coached beside folks that have never played the game and one guy who played in the Super Bowl.

But, with all of the varied and diverse experience, there is still one person I have difficulty reaching - my son. Mini-Mattis is driven in a way that I cannot fully comprehend.

In 2004, my then 5-year-old son wrestled within the local youth program. He was good enough to place 1st or 2nd in the various tournaments. During the season, twice the same kid defeated Mini-Mattis. For the sake of discussion, we will call the kid "Austin".

Side note: Mini-Mattis wrestled in most of the tournaments with a face-shield to protect his broken nose. Mini-Mattis broke his nose at an off-season football practice. He missed 1 tournament while a youth sized face shield was crafted.

Mini-Mattis met Austin for a third time in the semi-finals of the state championship tournament. Mini-Mattis was winning 8-1 in the 2nd period. The referee disqualified mini-Mattis.

Mini-Mattis did not break any rules. Five year old, Mini-Mattis was disqualified for crying. He was not hurt. He was not out of control. He was frustrated.

Mini-Mattis strives for perfection. He had put Austin on his back twice. Mini-Mattis wanted to pin Austin. He wasn't satisfied with earning points. He wanted to finish it.

That is only one example of his heart and drive. This summer 7-year-old Mini-Mattis ran in two 5K races. We did zero training to prepare. Not only did he run the whole thing without stopping, he easily beat me in both races. He finished nearly 10-minutes faster than anyone his age. The crazy thing is... he had plenty of gas left in the tank when he finished.

This past weekend, we were out the door shortly after noon. Mini-Mattis had a 2pm football game. The Rams played and excellent game but came up short in the end, losing 22-14. Mini-Mattis got his carry of the season on a tight end reverse. He got a couple of key blocks and gained 20 yards before being pushed out of bounds. His game ended at 3:30pm.

We jogged to the car and drove 40-minutes to get to the game I was supposed to help coach. We arrived at halftime. Mini-Mattis was still in his game pants and jersey. He went and played catch with the 4th and 5th graders who were finished playing.

After the game was over, Mini-Mattis wanted to go on the field and play catch with me. I told him that we had to get some food and get home to his baby sisters.

We finally arrived home around 6:30pm. We had been surrounded by football for six and a half hours. Mini-Mattis went out in the yard and started working on his various mechanics from a 3-step drop to his footwork agility drills.

Sunday, Mini-Mattis watched some of the Bengals vs Browns game. Then, he went out to the gym. Mini-Mattis set up a defense with speed hurdles and cones. He then proceeded to practice various ways to attack the defense.

After he got hot and tired outside, he came into the house. He played NCAA College Football 2007 on playstation.

I am not pushing him to do these things. He wants to do them. The kid has heart and drive. I am at a loss... how do I direct him? Do I keep fanning the flame? Do I try to slow him down?