My kid has never played organized sports prior to this. It is so satisfying to watch him exce at it. The only thing more satisfying than tackling someone at a crucial moment in a game... is watching your child bring someone to the ground who would have scored.
That's excellent! Glad you're both enjoying it. My parents could attest to that as well, they initially watched my games fearing I'd have to make a tackle, eventually seeing that Defence was one of my strongest attributes. Is your kid old enough to be playing in a specific position or is it at the grade where it's a free for all and more about learning the ropes?
He is 17. They've got him on the wing. He spent the first two games terrified of getting hit. Then something clicked. As I mentioned, he's new to organized sports, so he's still picking up some basics, like he is still easily juked, but heaven help you if you're within arms reach of him. If he can touch you, you're going down. It is deeply satisfying watching him work. He's even gotten his hands on the ball a few times, and is able to power through two to three guys his own size just by growling through. It's amazing.
Ah wonderful - wing play is great. I played wing all through my high school years and was forced to play halfback once I hit University and the Samoan wingers that were built like fridges took up residence. It sounds like he's a formidable attacker - as he gets used to the game he could try inserting himself into the backline at different moments. A powerful wing screaming in off his 10's shoulder is a seriously daunting task for a defender. If you've played before you've probably already told him, but one piece of advice always stuck with me as a winger - "show them the touchline". When he's defending, rather than rush the attacker he can approach them from an angle that presents the touchline side as an 'out' for said attacker. They'll either try and run through him and find out the hard way that's not going to happen; or try and run around him falling right into his trap! Sorry. I love that sport. Hearing about someone just getting into it gets me so damn excited.