Sports: When Do You Encourage, When Do You Quit?

T-ball, soccer, football, swimming, rock climbing… he did it all.

And he hated it all.

As parents we were frustrated that he could attend three games/meets, show an obvious talent for the sport, and then do everything in his power to not go back. He quit. I’m sure that he was frustrated as much as we were, and believe me – we were frustrated.

About two years ago, we decided to try wrestling. One more sport, we said. One more try.

He loved it. He’s been at it for two years, and he’s hooked.

Recently, Michael was hurt while at wrestling practice. He walked in the door with tears in his eyes and couldn’t turn his neck at all.

I should mention that during his first tournament of the season a few weeks ago, Michael took to the mat just as a young boy was being wheeled out of the gymnasium on a stretcher.

As a Mom, it killed me.

Did I really want my son in a sport where one wrong move by an unskilled opponent could end up in an ambulance ride to the hospital? Even if it was the only sport he loved?

And here we are. Not an ambulance ride to the hospital, but he was hurt.

He was practicing with someone who outweighed and “outskilled” him, and the boy accidentally hurt his neck.

For the last three days, Michael has been using icing and taking ibuprofen. He can’t turn his head to the side.

I want him to rest, and I can’t tell if he wants to go back. He easily took my advice to sit out a few days (almost too easily) and I don’t want to encourage him to go back if he is scared.

Or am I the one who is scared?

I can’t tell, to be honest.

I want to encourage him to go back (that’s what parents are supposed to do, right?), but part of me says “really!?” because it’s not easy to be a wrestling Mom.

It’s not easy to watch your kid wrestle one-on-one with an aggressive opponent.

An opponent that slams his body a little bit too hard into the mat, or pulls his arm behind his back a little too high.

One could argue that it makes a kid tough, but if we’re being honest here, I think it’s a little much.

I love the confidence he is gaining, but the other side of it – you know, where he gets hurt – is almost impossible to watch.

So, do I push him to get back out there? To compete in the only sport he has ever shown interest in?

Or do I sit back and let him do what I think is coming… quit.

Where’s the balance?