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With the college football playoffs finally ending, it brings to mind that I did one thing raising my son that I am proud of. We were sitting at the table having dinner when he sprung on me that he wasn’t playing football in high school. He had played in junior high and wrestled.

I did the same thing any coach would say to his son, I said, “You’re going to play football!” and I was emphatic about the way I said it.

My wife came down the stairs after putting him to bed and she said, “I hope you are satisfied. Will is upstairs crying himself to sleep.”

When I went upstairs to his room, sure enough he was crying. I said any parent who has any backbone wants his children to know what is expected from the child.

He said yes ma’am and thank you ma’am and please. He helped older women to cross the street. He made straight A ‘s in school and was working on his Eagle Scout badge. That was more than enough and I was mad because he wasn’t playing football.

He said that he wanted to play tennis. So we decided that he was going to go down to Washington and have instructions and lessons. He did and it made him a real tennis player and he advanced to the state championship!

He was , however, my football manager. He came to practice after school was out to help out, but he immediately started running laps. College coaches said, “What is Will running laps for”? Because he is late for practice, what else? Never did I have a better manager.

He finished high school and went to Duke where he helped with on campus football recruiting. You don’t know how many times I am glad I handled things differently after I first said he was going to play football. I’m glad I listened to him and learned of his aspirations to play tennis. It was a teaching moment for dad and Will .

Parents, please take a listening moment with your child! It’s not worth it to waste a teaching moment with your child over such a trivial thing as playing a sport.

They were the best of times with the best of friends and in the best of places Washington,N.C.! The Original Washington!