2006.12.11

On Saturday, Mrs. Mattis was attended a conference. It was Mini-Mattis, the two girls, and I. It was a juggling act to keep everyone fed and entertained.

In a recent post, I mentioned that Mini-Mattis appears to be growing again. One of the telltale signs is appetite. Mini-Mattis is eating like a champ. For lunch, Mini-Mattis asked for a grilled cheese sandwich. I made him a sandwich and gave him pretzels.

After eating the grilled cheese and pretzels... he claimed to still be hungry. This time he wanted a hamburger and potato chips. So, I made him a hamburger. I made a hamburger for myself as well.

At this point, one of the girls was hungry. So, I warmed up a bottle and started to feed my daughter. Mini-Mattis finished his burger and chips. He saw my burger, untouched. He asked, "Dad, can I have your hamburger?"

So, he ended up eating both hamburgers and a grilled cheese sandwich with pretzels and potato chips.

Anyway...

It was 20 degrees outside. It was cold. It was too cold for the girls to go out. Mini-Mattis badgered me to go outside and play with him. So, as the girls took a nap, I snuck outside to play with Mini-Mattis.

Disclaimer: Now, before anyone goes nuts about me neglecting the girls. I positioned myself about 5 feet from the backdoor. I could see them through the door at all times. Additionally, about every 2-minutes, I stuck my head inside the house to make sure they will still safely sleeping.

Back to the story...

Mini-Mattis has been inspired by the special teams ability of Cleveland Browns wide-receiver Joshua Cribbs. Mini-Mattis was insistent on fielding punts for 30-minutes. He is 7-years old. He is in the second grade. He will not have to return punts for at least 5 or maybe 7 years.

Nonetheless, he is determined to work on developing his technique. We are simply working on fundamentals.

1. He is doing a good job of visually tracking the ball and figuring out which kicks he can get to - and steering clear of the kicks he can not field cleanly.

2. He is getting good leg drive - turning his hips and accelerating to the ball.

3. He is pulling his elbows together to create a good cradle.

Preparation determines success...

As a kid, success in athletics is all about God given ability. Some kids are faster, stronger, taller than others. If God blessed you with speed - you are going to out run the other kids.

As kids get older, hard work and preparation begin to play a larger and larger role. The kid that was a superstar and age 10 can look very average at age 17. The "throwaway" 10-year-old who barely set foot on the field has blossomed into a workhorse by age 17.

Since Mini-Mattis was 4-years-old, we have worked with him on proper way to catch a football. At first, he got very angry. He could trap the ball against his body pretty consistently. He didn't understand WHY we were making him use his hands - coming back to the ball catching the ball at its highest point - looking the ball in, etc. He did as we instructed. He battled through the frustration. Now, he does an excellent job of catching with his hands.

Flash forward...

A couple of weeks ago, Mini-Mattis was playing a game of flag football with friends. On one play, he was the defender - the receiver got past him - the ball was thrown perfectly - the receiver let the ball hit him in the chest and slide down to the ground as an incompletion.

Later, Mini-Mattis was a receiver, the ball was thrown high - in traffic - several kids nearby - Mini-Mattis fully extended his arms overhead while turning - caught the ball - looked it in - and took off running. About 10-minutes later, this scenario played out with the same result.

Preparation determines success.