A Great Sport

On Saturday, Adam fenced in his very first tournament, a Regional Youth Circuit event up in San Francisco. Truthfully, I was a little concerned over how the day would go. Adam is a novice fencer, having just started last November. His teammates are all younger than him chronilogically, but have been fencing for years. I wasn't sure how he would hold up to the pressure of this "learning experience". Together with his coach, we decided that he was ready to participate in a tournament, but that he should go into it with the right attitude - he was there to learn, to gather experience, and to have fun.

Our day started with a 5:00 am wake up call to get on the road for the three hour drive to SF. Of course, Adam awoke with a smile - as always! We decided to make it a family day, touring the city after the tournament. I can't say that Eric, Greg and I were anywhere near as spunky as Adam that early in the morning!

The day went so beautifully. Our morning prayer was for a fun, safe and positive experience for Adam - God listened, and provided! Adam did his best in the initial round of pool bouts - fencers of all experience levels are grouped together into pools of six. You meet each of the five others in a five touch bout. Adam won a few, lost a few, and scored some great touches. He faced off with the young fencer who would eventually win the tournament and held his own even though Adam's Mom feared the boy would slice Adam in half! Despite the outcome of the bout, Adam shook hands with each of his competitors, smiled and walked off the strip with his head held relatively high. At the end of the pool bouts, he was the only fencer in his pool to walk up and shake hands with the strip Director, who had been refereeing the bouts. On a nearby strip, one of the top fencers was busy protesting a call, yelling at his Director and crying...my pride in Adam glowed, watching this display.

Adam didn't win the tournament, but he fenced his best and gave it his all. In the car after the tournament, he mentally reviewed a few close bouts, thinking about what might have made a difference. He plotted about improving his conditioning. He remembered some high points of the day, asking when he could compete again. Then he asked for a McFlurry from McDonald's and a trip to Pier 39 to visit the Sea Lions. In his book, the day was just getting started.

I'm so happy that Adam has found a sport that he enjoys and connects with positively. He's never been a "sporty" kid - that doesn't really matter much to me. We encourage our children to participate for the level exercise, both mental and physical, that sports provide. For a guy like Adam, fencing is about fun, fitness and doing your best. He may not have walked away with a medal, but Adam was definitely a winner on Saturday!