Beach Lax, Squishy Hunting, and Why Kids Might Be the Best Coaches We Have

Beach Lax, Squishy Hunting, and Why Kids Might Be the Best Coaches We Have

This past weekend we headed to Ocean City, MD for our daughter’s Beach Lax tournament at Northside Park.

Bri held the operation together, our daughter competed her heart out, our kids turned squishy hunting into a full-time job, and I mostly bounced between folding tents, iced coffee, sunscreen, and trying to soak it all in.

Somewhere between the games, beach time, sun rises and sunsets, team bonding, and spending time with teammates and their families, I found myself thinking about something.

Kids are incredible.

Seriously.

The Fitness Level Is Ridiculous

Our daughter and her teammates ran around all weekend.

Games.

Warmups.

More games.

Beach time.

Hanging out with friends.

Laughing nonstop.

And somehow still had enough energy left to keep going.

Meanwhile, I hit a workout at OC Fit one morning and spent the rest of the day acting like I deserved a medal.

The fitness level of kids is honestly unbelievable.

Not just physically, but mentally too.

They don’t spend a lot of time overthinking things.

They just go.

Play hard.

Compete hard.

Have fun.

Then do it all over again.

As adults, we’re constantly searching for motivation.

Kids don’t search for it.

They wake up excited and get after it.

There’s probably a lesson there.

Competition Is a Good Thing

I know competition gets a bad rap sometimes, but weekends like this remind me why it’s so important.

Competition teaches effort.

Competition teaches confidence.

Competition teaches resilience.

Competition teaches kids how to lose.

Competition teaches kids how to win.

Most importantly, it teaches them that growth happens when they’re willing to challenge themselves.

Watching these girls compete all weekend was awesome.

Not because of wins or losses.

Because you could see them growing.

Taking chances.

Supporting each other.

Learning.

Improving.

That’s what sports are supposed to be about.

The Games Were Great. The Time Together Was Better.

One thing youth sports gets right is that it brings people together.

Sure, we all showed up for lacrosse.

But some of my favorite memories from the weekend happened away from the fields.

Parents talking under the tents.

Kids running around together.

Families grabbing dinner.

Friends hanging out on the beach.

Teammates building friendships that hopefully last long after the final whistle.

There is something special about watching a group of kids grow together through sports.

And there is something equally special about watching the families grow together too.

By the end of the weekend, it felt less like a tournament and more like a community.

In a world where everyone seems glued to a screen, weekends like this remind me how valuable real human connection still is.

And honestly, that’s probably one of the biggest wins of youth sports.

Not the trophies.

Not the scores.

The people.

Apparently We Were Squishy Hunting

If you read this far, you get it!

If you don’t have kids, you may not know what a squishy is.

Honestly, a few weeks ago, I wasn’t completely sure myself.

But apparently they are the hottest item on the planet right now.

So naturally, we spent part of the weekend hunting them down.

And let me tell you…

These kids treated squishy hunting like it was an Olympic sport.

Store after store.

Comparing options.

Trading intel.

Showing each other their finds.

The excitement was real.

The funny thing is adults spend thousands of dollars trying to find happiness.

Kids find it in a squishy.

Maybe we’re overcomplicating things.

Ocean City, MD Hit Different This Time

It was also Senior Week.

And wow, did that bring back memories.

I spent a lot of time in Ocean City, MD when I was younger.

Some of those memories are crystal clear.

Some are… less clear.

There may have been beer bongs involved. Let’s Gooooooo. 😂

Walking around this weekend, seeing all those seniors celebrating, I couldn’t help but think about how quickly life moves.

It feels like yesterday I was one of those kids.

Now I’m the dad carrying tents, checking schedules, making restaurant decisions, and wondering if everyone remembered sunscreen.

And honestly?

I wouldn’t trade places with my younger self for a second.

The Unexpected Part of the Weekend

The tournament was for our daughter.

But one of my favorite parts of the weekend was the extra time with my son.

Nothing groundbreaking.

Just time.

Talking.

Laughing.

Eating.

Walking around.

Hanging out.

We hit some of our favorite spots including Uber Bagels (their iced coffee deserves its own trophy), Kohr Bros, Candy Kitchen, Dumser’s, Ropewalk, Bull on the Beach, MR Ducks, and probably a few others I’m forgetting.

No major life lessons.

No deep conversations.

Just being together.

And the older I get, the more I realize how important those moments are.

Who’s Really Influencing Who?

Parents are supposed to influence their kids.

And we do.

But weekends like this remind me that the relationship goes both ways.

Kids teach us how to be present.

How to have fun.

How to laugh harder.

How to care less about what everyone thinks.

How to bounce back after a bad game, a bad day, or a bad moment.

How to get excited about simple things.

How to appreciate where we are instead of always worrying about what’s next.

Honestly, there are weekends where it feels like my kids are coaching me more than I’m coaching them.

This Is What a Full Life Looks Like

Years from now, I won’t remember every score from the tournament.

I won’t remember every play.

I won’t remember where every team finished.

But I’ll remember this weekend.

I’ll remember watching our daughter compete.

I’ll remember the extra time with my son.

I’ll remember Brianna helping make the entire weekend happen.

I’ll remember the teammates, parents, and families who shared it with us.

I’ll remember the beach.

I’ll remember the squishy hunting.

I’ll remember the Senior Week nostalgia.

I’ll remember the iced coffee from Uber Bagels.

And I’ll remember being grateful.

Because a full life isn’t built from one giant moment.

It’s built from thousands of little moments with the people you love.

And this weekend was full of them.

Mind • Body • Heart

Kevin Gallagher

KG Full Life Performance