Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Family Traditions

Greetings Blog Members and Former SUNY B Runners!

Mark posted a comment on my last blog alluding to the fact that my son Greg appreciated his father’s support and presence at his track meets. Actually, this is the continuation of a track family tradition. My father (Greg’s grandfather) was a track athlete. His specialty was the long jump and the sprints. My dad attended Jamaica High School in Queens New York and graduated in 1938. Family lore has it that he placed fourth in the New York City Public High School Championships that year and possibly could have placed higher but barely fouled on his last jump. He then ran at the University of Texas for a brief time but his career was interrupted by World War II and that was the end of his track days.

My dad was a pioneer in forming the “soccer parent” syndrome although he was not a helicopter parent. He had a job that was local to where we lived and he always made time to attend all the usual school and athletic events that his two sons were participants in. I don’t think he ever missed a school play, little league game, track or cross country meet. As it happened, my dad was also a very talented amateur photographer. In the good old days before digital photography, he photographed most of our meets with his three Nikons and plethora of lenses. He then ingratiated himself with my teammates by handing out individual pictures of everyone while they were competing. My dad actually became the most popular guy around our meets and was always asked for new shots as the season progressed and he was delighted to oblige. I kid you not; some guys made sure their hair was in place before the race knowing that Mr. Caplin was out there with his camera!

Now fast forward to the present. Given the fact that I appreciated having my dad rooting for me and being a team fixture, it only seemed natural that I continue this tradition with my son’s athletic experiences. While nowhere near as talented a photographer as my dad, I still manage to get out there with my 28 year old Konica 35mm and shoot pictures with a variety of telephoto, wide angle and other lenses. With digital processing, it’s easy for me to put everything on a disc and e-mail shots of our high school team members individually. With good light, I can get shots at 1/1000th of a second so the results are usually pretty good. Needless to say, not only do the guys love the shots but so do the parents. Even the coach likes them because as he told the team one day last year, “I want to thank Mr. Caplin for all those great pictures which point out all of your running flaws!” Not exactly the notoriety I was looking for.

As I’m sure you can imagine, this gives me the equivalent of an officially sanctioned role with the team. As team photographer, I get total access to the meets on the track without being invasive or a burden to my son. In fact, my presence is quite welcomed by all concerned and Greg is free of any sense of a “helicopter” presence on my part. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I’m actually a welcome element in the team’s structure and it gives me the opportunity to be a close observer and a participant. I also get the incredible déjà vu rush of carrying on in the same vein as my dad did for me when I was in high school. It’s a great situation that I would not trade for anything. To paraphrase Mark Twain, I really do feel more and more like my father!

Regards to All!

Former Runner

1 comment:

Sub 5 at 50 miler said...

Dave:

Another interesting "article." It's almost funny comparing your family tradition with mine. Whereas your father and you have both been appreciated by their sons and the team, my daughter used to be appalled when I would try to take photos or videos of her running. This past year, I just gave it up, and watched without photography. Even then, she gave me "rules" about what I was allowed to say or not say during a race. Perhaps it is the difference between girls and boys, but yet, it could be her unique personality. Anyway, this is why I am always encouraged when I hear stories of teenagers appreciating their parents. Keep up the good work!

Mark