Hmmmm! What can I say? That is my boy and his team mates. I've heard them called many things...skinny boys, runner boys, naked boys...crazy and a little wacky seem to fit too. What a season these boys had!
For Harrison, it started off rough! He got sick and fought bronchitis for two weeks at the beginning of the season. He skipped varsity tryouts at the alumni meet because he was still sick. The first day he felt 100% for practice, he misjudged just how tall he is and didn't duck quite far enough while he was running and took a tree branch to the head. He got a few staples in his head with that one. And just a little bit of crap from his teammates. But, it just motivated him and he worked really hard and had a great season.
Sometimes, you watch your kids growing up and you kind of think you know what their little niche will be. I kind of figured Harrison would play basketball. When he was young we kept saying he had a long distance runner's body. But honestly, when they are little you have to run with them...well, I think we know where that ended.
When Harrison went to high school we prayed that he would continue to make good friends and good choices. We prayed he would find his place. Well, that first day of cross country practice when his coach prayed with the boys before practice, he knew he had found his spot. These coaches and teammates have become a brotherhood. Even though running cross country can be miserable (it was 112 degrees when practice started), the guys have so much fun together there really isn't much complaining.
It's funny, when you're at a meet and you talk to other parents and they ask which one is your kid, answering "the tall, skinny white kid" doesn't really clear it up. Okay...for H's friend Ryan, we can say "the hairy one" and he's easy to pick out.
The picture above shows what is is really all about for these boys. Brotherhood. I've never seen athletes or kids who love each other, encourage each other, and feel each other's joy and pain like these guys.
They leave it all on the course. It's exciting to run your personal best time. But the boys really want it for the team. They want to win the team title. Not once did I hear a boy talk about wanting an individual title, all-state or anything else except the team title. And at the state meet, they wanted it so bad for their seniors. These two senior boys this year have been such great leaders and encouragers. Unforunately, one of our senior boys (Seth) got sick and wasn't able to run at the last few meets, including state. But the boys still wanted to win it for Seth and Shook (our other senior).
Third at State wasn't how they wanted the season to end. But they had a great season and they ran well the entire season, winning both conference and regionals. By the end of the day of the state meet, there were smiles.
And then....there was pizza....lots and lots of pizza. And soda. And cinnamon rolls. And ping pong. Cuz that's how they roll!
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