CityView Magazine - Fayetteville, NC
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/35097
p ublisher Déjà Vu O ur theme this issue is Kids, which is special to me. My wife and I reared two wonderful sons. Our oldest son Hughes lives in Wilmington with his wife and our two grandsons. My youngest son, Bob, lives in the Kingdom of Heaven with Jesus Christ. He died from kidney cancer five years ago. When our children were growing up I was always involved in coaching their teams. Both sons loved sports and played many of them. Hughes played a few team sports and was very involved as a musician but Bob played all sports. He really took to basketball and his talent served him well during his high school years. I became his AAU basketball coach for several years. We traveled the state playing in tournaments and even went to a national tournament in Memphis, Tenn. one summer. Sports and coaching were a major part of our family life back in the ‘70s and ‘80s. I stayed with coaching AAU basketball after Bob graduated from the sport and I finally retired about 10 years later. I missed it a lot in the years since then, specifically the special bonding you can do with your children through sports. Now I am enjoying that bonding again, but this time just as an observer and cheerleader for my grandchildren. Nevertheless, it is still a great way to get close and connect with them. I admit to living vicariously through this experience; it brings back sweet memories of my children’s past sports accolades through my grandsons, both of whom are very active in sports. Marshall, III has become a great tennis player at 12-years-old. We accompany him to State tournaments all the time and his game has improved remarkably in the past year. He is currently ranked 33rd in the 12 and under division in North Carolina. Considering there are several hundred kids playing statewide, this is something that makes his grandparents proud. In June we took him to a tournament in High Point where he won the 12 and under championship. Now my youngest grandson, Griffith is a natural athlete. He is currently an 8- year- old a star on the soccer field, a great swimmer, excellent basketball player and a very good tennis player. He just won the 12 and under division tennis championship at Landfall County Club. We are looking forward to seeing both of them grow up with sports as a catalyst to their maturity. After their childhood days my sons always said they did not have time to get in trouble because they were always either playing sports or studying. I get excited every time the grandkids call or email about an upcoming event. As Yogi Berra said: “It is déjà vu all over again”. Check out my Facebook page and you will always see an update on how they are doing. Be safe and stay cool this summer.CV 12 | July/August • 2011