First off I want to say I am not trying to offend anyone in this post. That is not my intent. My intent is to show the differences I have noticed with the sports in Minnesota compared to Oklahoma. It is quite different...at least from my experiences so far and honestly I like the way they do it here!
The coaches that the boys have had in the short 3 weeks that we have been here have been AMAZING! They welcomed our boys like they have been here forever, they made them feel like one of the team right away. Even the kids were so excited to have some Minnesota boys on their teams! Will has even earned the nick name "Minnesota" from his Lacrosse team!
One word...RESPECT! This is one big difference I have noticed from the coaches down here compared to up in Minnesota. Mainly, how they speak to the kids and how they expect the kids to speak to them. All the boys have learned to say, "yes sir" and "yes mam" quickly. All the coaches expect it to be said. I love it!
Another difference is the discipline factor. If one team mate isn't pulling his weight the whole team pays. They need to "run to the pole" or "skate longer and harder" down here. In Minnesota I am sure this is true with the upper ages of sports but at the ages our kids are at...no way! I have not experienced this with my boys in their Minnesota sports.
Oh...and...the coaches say it how it is! One coach would often say, "are you hurt or injured?" If the kid answered hurt then he says, "then get up and get moving...no excuses". Another coach, regarding a player who was not pulling his weight at one practice, "You are acting like you have a debilitating disease or something!" LOL! I thought, as well as all the other parents, was quite funny! It made the kid work harder!
Now, some of you may be saying, "how dare they" or "those poor kids" or "I would go to the hire ups about those coaches." Not me! I saw how hard all those kids worked and it was because those coaches push them to work hard and they love it! In Minnesota, of all the sports my kids have played, they have never been pushed so hard!
I want to give the Minnesota coaches some Kudo's. They are amazing as well! They relate well to the kids, they know their information and they have fun! The coaches down here in Oklahoma do too! As hard as they are during the practice or game each coach has walked up to every player on their team and gave them hugs and told them how hard they played and how proud they were. I didn't hear too many coaches saying that to our boys in the sports they played in Minnesota. A select few, but that is it.
One last difference and I debated on putting this in for fear of offending someone. But again, that is not my intent, it is just to show differences. One of the boys on Will's lacrosse team wore a feather in his helmet during a game.. If this was EVER done in Minnesota. parents and spectators would have been in an uproar! They would have brought it to the board or something to complain. I thought it was great! What a team player. Now, this boy is Native American too so that makes it more okay; but again in Minnesota this would have NEVER happened! And to top it off, not one stink was made about it! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!
The moral of this post...Minnesota is way too PC! They need to relax and not be too worried about offending someone. They need to teach those Minnesota kids more respect towards adults and teach them how to be team players and work hard for their team. I am proud of our boys and their teams. They all play hard and work as a team, not as an individual!
