Here is the original Red Shoes story.   How, together with my son Troy, I learned just what the "I CAN PLAY" attitude really is!

Introduction   |   Red Shoes Story

THE RED SHOES
          Troy has large feet. When he was younger we had to buy new baseball cleats each season because his feet kept growing. When he was seven, we set out on our annual adventure to buy new cleats.

         It's always fun to prepare for a new season, for it brings new adventures, new things to learn. I couldn't have guessed how much I was going to learn from this shopping trip.

          We looked at black cleats, white cleats, white cleats with black trim, black cleats with white trim, but we were unable to find the ones Troy wanted. Finally, we saw them. They were on the wall shelf in the mall shoe store. Red baseball cleats.

          Troy had never seen red baseball cleats, much less had them on his feet. He ran up to them with a wide-eyed look.

          "Are those the ones you want?" I asked him.

          "Yes, er no--I'm not sure, Dad," was Troy's reply. He really wanted the shoes. It was obvious. But he was worried about trying something new. Sound familiar?

          My wife, Judy, and I watched our son walk around that store, looking at shoes, but continually coming back to the red shoes. We were sure those were the ones.

          Finally, Troy made the decision. We sized his feet, got the ones that fit, admired the shoes as he modeled them in the store, and headed home.

          Once home Troy went straight to his bedroom. I wasn't up there, but I bet he put those shoes on his feet, bent down in his best shortstop stance, looked at the pretend batter in the corner of his room, and said, "Hit it to me. I can catch it," then glanced down to his new shoes and said, "Oh yeah, red cleats!" -- like the shoes were going to help him catch the ball!

          And then he probably wrapped his hands around the bat he kept in his room, looked in the mirror, then at the pretend pitcher, and said, "I'm gonna rip this pitch!" And again looked down at the shoes and said, "Oh, yeah, red cleats!"

          After about half an hour, Troy came downstairs. He had a troubled look on his face as he sat next to me on the couch, and asked the question that had been bothering him since he first saw the red shoes in the store. "Dad, do you think people will laugh at me when I wear these red baseball cleats on the field?"

          At first I wished he hadn't asked the question. I remembered times people laughed at me, made fun of me when I tried something new, when I wanted to do something a little different, when I stepped up and stretched out after a goal no one thought I could achieve. I remembered all the times I was afraid to be myself, to step out and go after what I really wanted. I remembered the times I sat back and didn't go after the important things in my life, the times I thought someone might point at me and I would have to explain, and I didn't want to be put on the spot and explain myself or what I believed. It was always easier to just keep doing what I had always done in the past.

          Why am I thinking all of this? It's just a pair of new shoes. Just tell him nobody will laugh. Just tell him to wear the shoes and if they do laugh, ignore them. Just tell him Mom and Dad think the shoes are nice. Or tell him we can take them back.

          But I went in another direction. I told him the truth. "Troy, if you can't catch the ball or hit it or throw it, if you trip and fall when you run to first base, if you always stand back, waiting to be told what to do, if you aren't aggressive when you play the game, then people will look at you and say, 'There's Troy. And look at those silly red shoes he's wearing!' I could see Troy creating the picture in his mind.

          "But if you can play the game. If you can hit the ball, if you always run as fast and hard as you can to first base, and the whole time you're thinking how you're going to get to second base ... and if you slide into second looking toward third. If you dive for the ball and never give up until the ball hits the ground. If you always show leadership to your team, and even to the other team. Troy, if you can play the game, and everybody sees you play the game, then everyone at the ballpark will point at you and say, 'Look, there's Troy! And look at those great red shoes he's wearing!'"

          That's the truth. That just the way it is!

          Troy was listening intently. He was creating a vision, watching it unfold in front of him. After only a few seconds he jumped up and started out of the room.

          "Hold on there, Bubba," I said. "What's the deal? What do you think?"

          He turned, looked me in the eye, and very matter-of-factly said, "No problem, Dad, I CAN PLAY!"

          What Troy did is what people do hundreds, no, thousands of times everyday. He determined what he thought of himself. He concluded that with his talent and his ability he would be able to deal with whatever would happen when he wore the red shoes on the baseball diamond.

          I CAN PLAY! It was a little boy, no, a young man defining himself.

          I wish I could have put what Troy was feeling into a bottle and sold it. Heck, I wish I could keep it with me all the time. But the truth is, it takes work to maintain an I CAN PLAY attitude.

          I CAN PLAY! It was a defining moment, one I wish Troy to never forget. I knew immediately that I wanted my son to always remember how he felt about himself at that instant. We can't start too early in life believing in ourselves.

          Understand this, Troy wasn't boasting. I've seen boasting. I've seen kids, high school athletes, college athletes bragging how they were going to win, often without being able to back up the boast.

          That isn't what Troy was doing. He simply decided that after he examined who he was and what he was, he was comfortable wearing the red shoes. He was comfortable trying something new and prepared to deal with whatever came his way. After exploring his past and future on the baseball field, he decided he could play the game. And since he could play the game, he would wear the red shoes and just be himself. He said, "I CAN PLAY!" And once he decided he could play, the way he approached his problem was different. He was going to wear the red shoes with a positive attitude. That's the way to approach all issues. That's the way to travel through life, with an I CAN PLAY attitude.

          My goal for Troy is that he always carries that I CAN PLAY attitude with him wherever he goes. I wish he could make it his personal philosophy. In high school, through difficult times in his college studies, when he embarks on a career, in personal relationships. It won't always ensure success, but it will always offer the best opportunity for success. I wish he will always be able to recall the feeling he had about himself that day when he matter- of-factly said, "I CAN PLAY."

          When we approach life with an I CAN PLAY attitude, we're giving ourselves the best shot at success.

          There are three key elements involved in developing an I CAN PLAY attitude:

• Creating Vision
• Building a Positive Atmosphere
• Taking Risks.

I CAN PLAY, 2001, Passages Publishing, ISBN 1-886036-13-6	The Next Step Each story in Gary's book ends with "The Next Step."  Each step is your next action step.  Gary gives you not only the story but the direction in which you are supposed to take "The Next Step." Your Next Step today: - Buy the book, read the stories, and start: Creating Vision Building a Positive Atmosphere Taking Risks.

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