Sunday, July 20, 2014

Cobee the Bill

Every parent wants nothing more than for their child to be accepted. With all of the ugliness that plagues the world, it is such a relief that there are good people doing good things and teaching their children to do the same. This was Colten's first year of tackle football, and he could not have been on a better team. Having An Amazing coaching staff and 25 amazing boys all on one team is unheard of, but that was Coltens team. After the first game, i took Cobee, our 5 year old with down syndrome, to colt's practice, and without being able to stop him, he found his way into the middle of the teams warm ups doing gut busters, lunges, push-ups...the works! All the boys were impressed and they all started giving him 5's and throwing him the ball. The love spread like fire. By the 2nd game, they named cobee their team mascot, "Cobee the Bill". I bought Cobee his own jersey to match the team and the coach gave him team decals for his helmet. This team won every game this season by at least 30 points, all except one. This particular game was a tough one, and by half time, it was evident that there was a good chance we wouldn't win. Instead of the team being down and worried about their "undefeated" title being in jeopardy, what was important was that Cobee was out there to lead the team back onto the field where they lost by a touchdown. But that team of boys were the true champions that day. The love continued to spread, and Cobee lead the team every chance he got. The team always stopped to give him 5, our family heard comments coming from the boys saying "he's the BEST mascot ever!" I stopped by the school a few times and, without them knowing i was there, i would see boys from the team stopping in the halls to hi-five him. By the last game, he was MVP, at least he felt like he was. It was half time, and being the last game, i was snapping pictures and forgot to take Cobee over to the huddle. But the boys didn't forget. Out of no where, i heard Cobees name being chanted by an entire team of boys! They weren't going to head back on the field without him. It was AMAZING! If every team, young or old, had this same attitude, this same love and unique bond, they would win all but one game too!! I always knew that C
obee has a band of angels watching over him from heaven, but know i KNOW that he has his own band of angels right here on the earth. THANK YOU NORTH CENTURY BILLS. You made an impact in our community and in the life of a 5 year old little boy. That makes you a team of life long champions!!!!