She's Got the Idea

I picked up Caroline from her volleyball camp at TCU today.  I was so proud of how hard she worked, and that she enjoyed the camp.  She learned so many wonderful things that she hasn't been exposed to on a regular (in-depth) basis.  She is also excited to implement the concepts that she learned at her next camp and the upcoming year.  There was one particular example of a lesson that she has finally learned, thanks in part to an idea we've tried to instill in the kids.  But also partly because she hasn't seen a whole lot of success (with her teams) on the court.

On the last day of the camp, they have a tournament.  The games are played for 18 minutes each, and the score is kept and recorded on a big board.  At the end of the camp, there are awards, and then it's off to check out.  They have a bunch of games they have to play, and then a final game between the two top teams from each bracket.  I'm not sure how the final score was tallied to get the top two teams, but Caroline thought it had to do with point differential.  Anyway.  Caroline's team, the Big Ten, won every one of their games.  They all knew where to be, who rotated in for whom, who the setters were, and how to help each other.  Every one of the teams they played fell out of rotation, and time was lost because they had to figure out who went where.  Caroline's team called the ball in/out for each other, cheered when someone did a great job, and picked each other up if they didn't do well.  It was a great example of teamwork.

Like I said before, Caroline's team won every single one of their games.  But they didn't get a prize for winning them all.  As I stood outside the dorm waiting to be let into the building to retrieve Caroline, I heard several very interesting conversations.  I had sent Jack to get the car, and I went to go get Caroline.  As I stood in the line of people waiting to get in, several parents (loudly) complained that their daughters' teams had steamrolled through their bracket.  It ended up being a huge whine-fest, that ended up snowballing until most parents around me were complaining to each other.

I kept reading articles on my phone about ideas that I want to implement in my classroom.  It vaguely registered that someone had said something to me, so I turned and looked at the gentleman standing next to me.  He asked me how many times my daughter had been to the camp, and I told him that this was her first time.  I told him how much she'd enjoyed it, that it had challenged her and stretched her beyond her comfort zone.  That made her realize what she can really do, and it lit a fire in her to continue with what she learned.  He then complained that at the last camp his daughter had gone to, she'd received a participation medal.  He was floored that they didn't do that at this particular camp.  I chuckled and told him that what Caroline learned and was taking from this camp was better than any medal she could get that would only hang in her room.  The skills she developed and honed would last her a lot longer than a medal.  For participation, for that matter.  He then mumbled something about it being an injustice, so I turned and continued reading.

When Caroline got into the car, I asked her about not getting a medal for being at the camp.  This was her response..."Why would I get a medal for participation?"  She explained that she had learned so much during the camp.  She even learned she was pretty good at beach volleyball (but it was too hot, so she wouldn't be pursuing that).  I asked about the fact that her team won all of their games, including the final tournament game.  I asked if she was bummed she didn't get anything for that.  Her response?  "Are you kidding?!!! That was the first time my team (on a consistent basis) has won anything!  It shows that we put the skills to use, and it worked!  So I'm going to use that information for when I play club and at school.  It was AWESOME!!!"

She's got the idea.  She was so happy from the inside, that an outside trophy didn't matter.  That's what it's all about.