If 12-Year Olds Can Show Kindness, Why Can’t We?
This weekend, I was on the sidelines like so many other parents, in my fold up chair with my coffee (of course), cheering on my daughter and U12 soccer team. I love watching these kids play! Having a front row seat to watch my favorite person do their favorite thing is an honor and a privilege. These girls are determined and are still learning how to balance competitiveness with fun.
During the game, something happened that made me pause. A player took a ball straight to the face. The parents on the sidelines got awfully quiet, and all eyes shifted to the player on the field that was injured. Before anyone could say a word, every single player – from both teams – dropped to one knee. No one told them to do it. No one hesitated. It was automatic: and unspoken agreement that said…
We care. We are with you. We will pause until you’re okay.
It was such a simple, powerful act of kindness, respect, concern, and sportsmanship. In soccer, when a player is injured, teammates and the opposing players kneel on one knee as a gesture of respect, concern, and sportsmanship. It shows acknowledgment that someone is hurt and that their well-being matters more than the game in that moment. It’s an unwritten tradition of respect.
These are twelve-year-old kids. Kids who are still learning algebra, who sometimes forget to pack both cleats, who still need reminders that their water bottles are in the sink. Yet, when faced with a moment of human vulnerability, they didn’t think about competition, frustration, or even themselves. They thought about another person. They showed empathy, concern, and unity.
And I couldn’t help but think: if twelve-year olds can get this right, why can’t we as adults?
Too often, the world we live in feels divided, impatient, and downright unkind. We honk at each other in traffic. We argue with strangers we have never even met. We rush to prove our point instead of pausing to listen. Respect seems optional these days, when it should be the foundation on how we interact with one another.
But watching my daughter and two U12 soccer teams kneel reminds me – it doesn’t have to be this way. Kindness doesn’t cost anything. Respect doesn’t make us weak; it makes us stronger. And sportsmanship isn’t just made for the soccer field. It’s for life.
So maybe we should start taking notes from our kids. Maybe we should learn to pause, to show up for each other, to put empathy before ego. If twelve-year old soccer players can remember that we are all human beings first and competitors second, surely the rest of us can too.
The world doesn’t need more winners. It needs more teammates.
Meredith Speir-Cavalier
