“Because we say so”

August 4, 2024

The first several photos from my album show the boys attending not only my favorite meeting of the summer but arguably the most important one, too.

This is the sportsmanship discussion that comes just before the Bow & Arrow introductions in the Council Circle. Guys who have been coaching forever direct the proceedings and you would be proud of your sons, who actually listened to the advice and offered examples when prompted.

We talked about such concepts of team play, being a good loser, and (crucially) being a good winner. Scott Neff spoke about respecting the referees and Andy Luther made some terrific comments about taking positive lessons from a loss.

At conclusion, we always propose the same question: “Why will Bow and Arrow days be all these things we are talking about now?”  The answer is “Because we say so.”  This has worked for forty years now, and will again this time, I guarantee you.

Stephen and Adam are the commissioners of B&A and they outlined a most diverse lineup of activities for the next couple of days.  We compress the contests into about three of the final seven days of the summer. That allows us to have a relatively normal week for over half the time.

The competition calls for loads of activities that we do not offer on any sort of regular basis. Yesterday, for example, we had a boat meet/swim meet for older boys and a track meet for the juniors and lower intermediates.

When the former went much longer than planned, Mike muttered something about how Kingswood is not that accomplished in boat racing.  The craft were so bunched together at various points that objections could have been raised nearly every time.  None were made.  “Because we say so.”

Sara likes the water venues for photos, so I skipped up the hill to the track meet. In my photo stash, I modestly cropped nearly every picture, which allows you to find your son somewhere in that mix.  Plus, the tug o wars were outstanding photo ops and all I had to do was snap and chuckle.

This morning, we are reversing yesterday’s scheme, with older boys at track and younger ones on the water.  I can hear the chanting going on at the beach as I write these words.  Gotta go.  Because I say so.