Cleats Welcome Here

There is nothing quite like watching the lesson walk out the door on its own two feet.

It was several boys on the same soccer team, bags over shoulders, cleats on, ready to head to practice straight from Cotillion. One of them held the door open for the others on the way out, this gentlemanly gesture we had just talked about in class. Most kids know to do it, but the spirit is in the confidence of the gesture and the heart posture of anticipating it. The youngster pictured below knew his buddies were loaded down with gear while squeezing in a walking fuel boost, so he executed the intentional door usher with smile. Straight from Cotillion to the pitch, without missing a beat of either one. I grabbed my phone to capture it quickly. There was a heartfelt high-five and a beam of a smile from that kiddo before it was over.

That is the lesson, lived out in real time, on the way to practice. And it took root the way it did because he already cared about his teammates long before he walked into the lesson. Capitol Cotillion didn’t plant that. We gave it somewhere to grow.

This is the thing I have come to understand as I serve this Cotillion: the lessons don’t take root because I teach them well. They take root because the children who walk through that door already have something real inside them: loyalty, competitiveness, heart, devotion to their people. What we do here gives a shape, a language, and a set of skills to match what’s already there.

Our cheer girl arrived late one Tuesday, still lit up from tryouts, and we were ready for her. That kind of excitement deserves a real response fuller than just, “that’s great, good luck!” Follow-up questions, genuine encouragement, the skilled exchange of people who want to know what happens next. Her experience at Cotillion that day was receiving all that warmth with grace and then sharing the uncertainty of whether she’d make the team, all with classmates who knew how to discuss it with her. That is a Tuesday night at Capitol Cotillion.

She did make the squad.

Our two tennis girls bring their game into the room with them on a regular basis, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. They talk about something they love and use it to find their footing with a room full of new people. They found each other. They don’t play on the same team, they’re just two competitors learning to talk about competition openly, with curiosity instead of rivalry. Those who don’t play are learning a lot from them! Watching that unfold confirms for me exactly why this program exists.

Even we adults sometimes forget this gold nugget. We think “I don’t know about that”. We meet others with a shallow “that’s great”. “I love that for you”. Knowing how to find connection in those moments instead of throwing them away is valuable beyond measure.

At Capitol Cotillion, this is what we’re inviting kids into when we send out those invitations. Bring your passion, drive, cheer bow, tennis racket, soccer cleats, and orchestra case if applicable. Tell us about the sweet-natured horse you ride, the ridiculous weights schedule your coach drives, or your next-level robotics design. What you carry through our door is not set aside for the session. It is welcomed into the room, drawn out in conversation, and given a working frame that connects you with others who share those interests and with those who don’t know much about them yet. Immediately, a richer, fuller life starts to take shape.

Season 3 is open now for grades 2–8.

Grade School: 4 sessions

Middle School: 8 sessions

September through April.

capitolcotilliontopeka.org