The Quiet Killer!
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On the last day of school for 2015, with my daughter in grade 11, she decided for the first time to participate in the school dodge ball tou
ament. So her and five of her good friends got together and created a team. My son had actually made mention of it and told her not to bother, that her team would 'get creamed' by none other than the massive grade 12s. Anyway off to school she went, ready to participate in the tou
ament. A few hours later she returned home. She couldn't get in the door fast enough with a priceless smirk on her face, to share her excitement with me.
So apparently there were many teams participating and the tou
ament was so much fun and very exciting, but the best part was that the final game was down to her team, which was made up of 4 fairly small girls and 2 not so large boys.......against the ruling champions, the grade 12 boys, that her brother had warned her about. There were 6 boys on this team......who according to my daughter were all built like large hockey players. As the final game got underway, causing much yelling and cheering, the gym started getting more and more crowded with spectators, students and teachers. One by one my daughter’s teammates got hit with the ball, all except for her and one of the boys on the opposite team got hit, so now it was down to five grade 12 boys and my daughter! My daughter who suffered very badly with anxiety when she was younger, never has and still does not like being the Center of attention........she definitely was the Center of attention here facing off against a team of 5 grade 12 boys. On the other hand she is a great and unassuming athlete - probably about 110 lbs soaking wet! She has however always been very strong physically especially with her upper body strength. She can throw a baseball from way out there pretty accurately to any base without trouble, including home plate! So anyway back to the story.......
"So mum, by this point everyone is chanting my name and it's so loud and people are still coming into the gym. I got one of the 5 boys out, more chanting and yelling and more people are arriving to see what the noise is all about. Then I got another one out and another." I then asked her, were you really nervous or how were you feeling at this point?" "I wasn't nervous at all, I was so caught up in the moment with the adrenaline and the thought that I had a job to do and all the cheering and chanting my name really helped, it was awesome, so many teachers were cheering for me!' Then she continues to say 'then I got another guy out, the cheers got even louder. So it was me and one of the grade 12 guys left. I couldn't believe it mum, it was down to me and one guy. The other guys in the team couldn't believe it, they were shocked and they were the only people cheering for the last guy standing on their team. Then finally he hit me with the ball and it was over! Even although I didn't win I feel like I did cos it was me against 5 of them!'
The look of pride and excitement on my girls face was amazing, talk about a totally proud mummy moment. All I could think about was how she cried and shied away from crowds and noise or being the Center of attention for years. Here she is telling me how exciting it was and how good it felt when everyone was cheering for her. She said after the game everyone came up to her and told her how well she had done and that, that game had been the best ever. Even walking through the hallways to go to her locker the teachers were cheering and praising her. 'I wish you could have been there to see it mum, it was so cool,' she commented. I totally wished I could have been there but it wouldn't have made me any prouder if I had actually seen it. The excitement in her face and voice, the confidence in her body language and words was all I needed. My girl had come a long way!
Later in the day while walking back from the grocery store, we walked through the school parking lot and noticed a truck slowly approaching us with two people frantically waving. Turned out to be two of her gym teachers who had been in the gym and watched her......they lowered the truck windows and gave her the label, the 'Quiet Killer!'
Article author
About the Author
I am a Law of Attraction Life Coach, Parenting Coach, Counselor S.S.W. and Author
I have many years of experience working with children and parents in the Children’s Aid facilitating the PRIDE course. I have worked in a group home setting and school setting, as well as the criminal justice system. My experience for many years, covered dealing with juvenile to adult offenders, facilitating peer groups of school age children, a peer support group of pregnant teens. Many years of my experience has been working with special needs kids, with mild intellectual delays to many variations of the Autism spectrum.
I am the proud, sole parent of 2 terrific teens 1 boy, one girl.
I help disconnected families to reconnect by empowering and teaching parents and children better communication skills, positive parenting strategies and the importance of healthy lifestyle choices.
I WALK MY TALK, PREACH WHAT I PRACTICE AND AM INVESTED IN HELPING FAMILIES LIKE YOURS.
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