Growing as Athletes and "Coaches"

One fall day, six hopefuls sat on a bench hoping their coach would choose them to show off their skills in some games.  The hopefuls were (from L to R) Cody, Mr. Frog, Jaden, Rudolph, Doggie, and Teddy Bear.

Given my choices (as acting coach), this Daddy chose the two hopefuls who seemed to have the most upside in their athletic ability.  Congratulations, Cody and Jaden, I choose you to compete in the random games!

What are the "games" these two competed in?  Jaden shows his good form in "Ring Toss Dunk".

Cody shows good range for "Two-Handed Walk and Slam".

Jaden contemplated his role as "passer" for the "Big Blue Ball Alley-oop".

Cody received the pass well and did what any alley-ooper dreams of.  Send it home, young man!

Cody was excited to be the quarterback for "Set, Hike, Handoff".

Jaden did not receive the handoff well...

...but then he did. 

Our boys certainly have grown in their "athletic" ability over the last few months.  These games are merely child's play compared to playing fantasy football with a bunch of relatives, however.  Background:  Jaden and Cody coached a fantasy football team last year that won 3 games out of 14.  Their team badly missed the playoffs.  Present:  Jaden and Cody's 2013 fantasy football team was made up only of players and defensive teams whose first names start with the letters J or C.  Their team name was "First Name Jaycees", and they posted an 8-6 regular season record and qualified for the 4-team playoffs as the #4 seed.

How did  two one-year-olds "coach" a weekly fantasy football team?  Did they pick their weekly starting lineup based on all sorts of calculations, statistics, and matchups?  No.  They did pick their own players every week, however.  This daddy creates random and different opportunities for player choices based on team colors, player names, etc. for each week of the fantasy football season.  These are their documented picks for their big semifinal playoff game against #1 seeded Papa.  They had to choose one Quarterback between Colin Kaepernick (red/yellow for the 49ers) or Cam Newton (blue for the Panthers).

Jaden chose Kaepernick.

They had to choose three Wide Receivers from Josh Gordon, Cecil Shorts, Julian Edelman, and Jordy Nelson.

The post-it notes tended to fall off the lids as they picked them, but in the end, Jaden chose to leave Jordy Nelson on the lid and, therefore, on the bench.

They had to choose two Running Backs between James Starks (#1 yellow for Packers), Joique Bell (#2 blue for Lions), and Jamaal Charles (#3 red for Chiefs).

Cody chose Charles first and then, without any prompting, pointed at his second choice.

He made it official by slamming down Joique Bell's #2 blue character.  Cody is an efficient coach.  He was done playing with the toy once he had made his selections.  There were more starting lineup positions to fill.  Time to move on.

Teddy bears come in various colors and sizes.  So do Tight Ends.  Jimmy Graham plays for the New Orleans Saints, and their team color includes a lighter shade of brown.  Jordan Cameron plays for the Cleveland Browns, and their team color is a much darker shade of brown.  Jaden seemed a bit sad as he chose Jimmy Graham.  Graham is never a sad choice, buddy.  He scores nearly every week.

How about Kicker?  Josh Brown plays for the blue-colored Giants while Justin Tucker plays for the purple-colored Ravens.  

Jaden clearly chose Tucker.

Finally, they needed to choose a defensive team.  What'll it be, Cody?  Cardinals (red shoes) or Cowboys (boots)?  Cody picked up, then appropriately licked the red shoe.  Okay, okay, Cardinals it is.

Here was their final lineup for the big playoff game. 

Our boys have come a long ways in their two years of fantasy football coaching.  They had 3 wins in year one.  They posted 8 wins in year two.  Oh, wait...I forgot to mention that Jaden and Cody's "First Name Jaycees" team not only defeated their Papa in the semifinals, but they also beat their cousins Ian and Ryan in the championship game to win the Schleicher Relatives Fantasy Football League!  We're proud of you, boys!  Congratulations!  Their reaction to being told they had won the championship?  A simple smile followed by more play time with whatever toy each was holding at the moment.  Fair enough.  May I never be the kind of dad who tries to live vicariously through my boys' sports achievements.  It was a fun fall, boys.  Keep wearing those Lions shirts boldly, even when they disappoint us terribly.  They may just make the playoffs again in your lifetime.