Tackling Dreams

I don’t need Sheryl Sandberg to tell me that girls can rule the world.  I know all about raising your daughters to believe that they can be anything they want to be.  In fact, I’m so good at it I’ve got a 9-year old daughter that plays football and dreams of playing in the NFL.  I don’t think this is what Sheryl had in mind.

Last summer it was Karate lessons.  Rachel had dreams of being a ninja.  Being supportive of her dreams we enrolled her in the classes.  We then watched her disappointment as she discovered that getting to break boards is not part of beginning karate.  She quickly decided that one session of karate was plenty and abandoned her ninja dreams.  Needless to say, when she brought up football, we were skeptical.

We compromised and let her try flag football.  She had a blast and couldn’t wait until the spring season.  Two successful seasons behind her she decided to go to football camp this summer.  Rimington Football Camp.  As in “former NFL-player Dave” Rimington Football Camp.   Who better to help her get to the NFL than someone who’s already been there?  I was encouraged by the fact that the website specifically indicated that the camp was for boys AND girls.  With that, she was registered.

The first day of camp was hot and miserable.  Less than 15 minutes into the stretching warm-ups, Rachel had decided that sitting under the tent with a bottle of water and a cold towel with one of the trainers was a better option.  After a little ‘encouragement’ from Mom, she returned to the camp.  She completed two and a half hours of offensive and defensive drills. 

The second day of camp ended with the keynote speaker, Aaron Davis, noticing that there was a lone girl in the mass of roughly 150 kids.  He told the boys to cheer “Way to go girl!”  After a less than enthusiastic response, he told them to try again and this time to do it with some attitude at which point all the boys cheered “WAY TO GO GIRL!”  She appreciated the vote of confidence, but it’s hard to be “one of the guys” when you keep getting singled out. 

Aaron’s words of wisdom to the kids went something like this:

“You may hear people tell you that it’s not whether you win or lose, as long as you have fun.  That’s the STUPIDEST thing I ever heard.  Of course it matters if you win or lose.  WINNING is fun. “ 


I'm guessing that Aaron isn't a proponent of trophies for participation.  He went on to explain that losing is not the end of the world, but that you should always be trying your hardest, trying to win. 

The third, and final, day of camp she confirmed that her favorite part of football is tackling.  After the camp, one little boy asked for her phone number.  Is it possible she’s ahead of her years and sees this as a great way to find a boyfriend?  Phone numbers aside, she decided that tackle football is what she wants to do.  I took the opportunity to point out what I thought she had missed.

“You do realize that if you can tackle them, they can tackle you too?”

“Well duh, Mom!”

“I’m just saying….You haven’t mastered catching the ball because you claim it hurts your hands.  Do you really think having a boy tackle you isn’t going to hurt?”

“That’s what the pads are for”

Silly me.  That must be why football players never get hurt.  They wear pads. 

At this point I remind myself that this is the same child who broke her wrist by falling off our deck.  Perhaps wearing pads isn’t such a bad idea.

I set about doing my research (via the internet) to find my daughter a tackle football league.  I convinced her Dad that it would be a good idea to let her play.  Rachel thinks she’s won the lottery.  Then I got some more details.  That’s when I had to crush her dreams of tackle football.

Apparently in Omaha, tackle football (even for 9-year-olds) is something to be taken seriously.  While they are happy to accept girls, they will be practicing four times a week to start and will then drop to three times per week.  WHAT???  I explain this to Rachel and her immediate reaction is “When will I have time to do my chores and homework?”  It is at this moment, that I can feel my heart start to grow.  Rachel, this same girl who typically despises homework and acts as if chores are punishment, was concerned about having time for them.  Forget her dreams of the NFL-----now I must be dreaming. 

I explain to Rachel that I’m not going to spend more than half my week in South Omaha; that there are four of us in this family and that one of her interests cannot consume that much of our time.  Furthermore, games are on Sundays.  What happened to keeping the Sabbath holy?  Call me old-fashioned but I kind of like this commandment.  It’s how I get my week off to a good start.  Elisabeth prefers to think of it as ending the week on a good note.  (Scripturally, she is more accurate as you work for six days and rest on the seventh.)  Either way, football will not take precedence in our schedule over church.  She is disappointed but she understands. 

I have tackled her dreams of playing tackle football. 

I’m not sure who feels worse.  Maybe I can find her a tackle dummy so that she can practice tackling in the safety of our backyard.  With some pads.  Away from the spot where she broke her wrist. 

In the meantime, she’ll have to find another way to get a boyfriend.