• Hats off to dad’s Hats off to dad’s By Duane Shimogawa – The Garden Island What a swell guy! To most dad’s, this is the reply they receive whenever a good deed is done. However, the most important thing
• Hats off to dad’s
Hats off to dad’s
By Duane Shimogawa – The Garden Island
What a swell guy! To most dad’s, this is the reply they receive whenever a good deed is done. However, the most important thing that a dad does for you is to help you get back on your feet, when times get tough.
When it comes to sports, a father is the one that usually is very critical of his athlete and it’s usually mom who makes the situation better, sort of like a band-aid that keeps the sore away from the bad stuff.
Growing up, I had this type of situation, where mom played the role of nourisher and dad did his duty of being the enforcer. I do think that this helped me throughout athletics. It enabled me to be hard on myself, from dad’s after the game talks, and it also helped me keep things in perspective, from mom’s kind words, no matter how bad I played in a game.
You see, dad’s tell it like it is and although this may be a little hard to admit, they are usually right. In addition to being right, dad’s usually don’t admit it when they are wrong, but who’s going to tell dad that he’s wrong!
When I make my way to the games around the island, there’s always one constant: Mom is usually sitting down on the bleachers and dad is right by the action, barking at his son or daughter.
In addition to the barking, dad’s bring intensity to the games and they get into it on a different level as opposed to mom’s. A father is usually the one who tries to encourage his kid to play sports and many times, it’s the sport that the father has played or wanted to play, but just didn’t.
What amazes me the most about father’s is that they look so tough on the outside, but when their athlete is in a tough situation, whether it may be a tough loss or just a tough game, where nothing goes right for the son or daughter, a dad can be so comforting and as soft as a teddy bear.
I can recall a time when this happened to me. It was my senior year playing high school basketball for Kaua‘i High School and we were in the championship game with Waimea High School.
This game was so close and hard-nosed that you could feel the intensity in the air. It came down to an overtime session, where both teams went back and forth, all the way until the very end, when Waimea pulled away. This was a very tough time for me, not only was it my senior year and my last chance at going to states, but this was the last time I would lace it up with a great group of guys.
As the seconds ticked away and the final buzzer sounded, the very first person that came to my side was my dad and I’ll never forget the word’s he whispered in my ear: Son, I’m so proud of you! I think about that time often and it’s usually when times get tough for me. I always think about what he said and when he said it: at a tough time when I needed to hear it the most.
So as we reflect on all of our dad’s today, don’t forget to tell him that you’re proud of him because I know that’s what I’ll tell my dad!
