Learning the "Natch"

I love sports.  Not all sports, but most of them.  And I love playing more than I love watching.  I'll try just about anything.  That said, I've tried not to push the sports too hard on the boys.  Despite being a rabid Wolverine fan, my boys don't know all the words to "The Victors." 

But, J...

J has sports in the core of his DNA.  He'll watch a sport on TV he's never heard of, and immediately figure out how to play it in the living room.  And he'll be good at it!  J has the practice discipline of an Olympian.  I've never met a four-year old who enjoyed practicing a sports move so much, and he's been doing that since he was two!  His throwing technique is excellent.  If you ask him how to throw a football, he won't say, "with my arm."  He'll say, "with my eyes."  Those who played QB will know he is right.

Today, he wanted to know what I was doing grunting in the basement.  When I told him, "dumbbell swings," he insisted I teach him.  So I did, and he practiced and practiced (using a toy bowling pin).  Then he overheard me saying that I wanted to learn how to snatch, and then asked endless questions about what a "natch" is.  So we spent about an hour, all told, looking at YouTube videos of great lifters.  First it was some Olympic snatching, and then it was to videos of "ree-yee ree-yee" (really, really) strong guys - Arnold, Coleman, Platz, more Olympic lifters.  Then he insisted on learning the one-arm bowling pin snatch.  I showed him.

Surprise, surprise ... after only a little practice, he's pretty good.