I asked one the coaches to roll out a ball for me to which I charged at like there was no tomorrow, roared ‘ball’ as I scooped it up then turned to run towards the hill where I dropped my stick, and in a demonstration of passion sprinted up the hill. Knowing I had the full attention of the kids in that group, I fervently dropped for what many would consider a best-in-class barrel roll.

“Thump. Roll, Roll, Roll, Roll, Roll, and then came the Thump again.

There I was, a 40-year-old man rolling down a moderately sized hill on a cold rainy April weekend in a practice I wasn’t even the coach for trying to show these boys, barrel rolls?

Last month, the day after witnessing one of the most miraculous, amazing sports performances I have seen, I finally realized the why ‘Rudy’ still caused a middle-aged man like myself to consistently get goosebumps and tear up like there was a cut onion sitting next to me.

I can’t ever remember teaching a Scoops class where there hasn’t been at least 1 and most likely 2 kids who seem more interested in disruption then scooping. They all are almost always boys around ages 5 and 6. They routinely choose to distract rather than listen. They prefer to entertain, ridicule, and create more than they like to demonstrate. Their actions are seen as disturbances by some. They are often labeled troublemakers. They are me

You will be amazed by the varying height differences within a kindergarten class of 15 kids. An ample reminder that kids who share birthdays in the same calendar year develop physically at such differentrates than their classmates. And yet, while the physical differences are easily recognizable, the mental and emotional ones are not so much. 🙁

By the estimation of most, it takes all of these factors, as well as few other variables that often fall under everyone's radar. As we get set for the season, I'd like to take a moment to highlight some of the vital, yet unheralded factors I believe are equally if not as important