February Sports

[186momx]

How busy is this short month?

[186momx]

DD gets to stay on the gymnastic team and is possibly competing on the 22nd. She has made leaps and bounds in the last month and I really think that none of the coaching staff expected her to accomplish what she did. I don't if it was from all the extra hours in the gym, it finally clicking, or finding the right combo of coaches to give her some confidence. Her own coach is still being a pill but DD is advocating for herself. Last night she told her coach to stop spotting her on the bars and to just be there in case she falls and her coach was shocked at how close she is to doing the skills on her own.
We dropped the tumbling class on Monday nights and the double privates on Wednesday. This month DD has practice Tu/Th/Fr and a 1/2 hour private on Monday night. I'm hoping this helps her not feel so exhausted by the weekend. Not that I wasn't minding her sleeping in until after 9 both weekend days.

[mommyatty]

Tee ball starts. DH coaches. DS plays. I’m dugout mom. I’m not looking forward to it and I hope this is our last year.

[waverly]

We have dance still every Monday night. Lots of events for Girl Scouts- actually I just realized I need to RSVP to one. One big event for Cub Scouts. A few weeks of double headers for basketball...

[librarychica]

My littlest recently joined her sister at horse riding lessons twice a month and now wants to take ice skating lessons as well. We may do one session. She’s barely 5.

I am struggling with my 8 year old. She doesn’t like team sports. She enjoys horse riding twice a month and tolerates running club on weekdays before school but she is incredibly high energy and she doesn’t have a friend group. I think she would benefit from a more regular activity but she isn’t having it. I wish I could toss her outside to play with friends but we don’t have that kind of neighborhood.

[librarychica]

My littlest recently joined her sister at horse riding lessons twice a month and now wants to take ice skating lessons as well. We may do one session. She’s barely 5.

I am struggling with my 8 year old. She doesn’t like team sports. She enjoys horse riding twice a month and tolerates running club on weekdays before school but she is incredibly high energy and she doesn’t have a friend group. I think she would benefit from a more regular activity but she isn’t having it. I wish I could toss her outside to play with friends but we don’t have that kind of neighborhood.

[covergirl82]

Same schedule as last month (DS doing club basketball with games on Thursdays and he has travel baseball practice (indoors) on Friday evenings, and DD has hip-hop dance class on Monday evenings), although DS played in a basketball tournament last weekend. They lost their second game on the bracket play, but DS had been sick (low grade fever) the Wednesday and Thursday before, recovery day on Friday, so I'm sure he was still on the mend on Saturday and Sunday. (Although one team they lost to in pool play should've been disqualified because one of their players was too old.

After spring break (early April), things will get really busy with DS and DD both doing Little League.

[mae0111]

librarychica - golf? Tennis? Karate? She can meet kids doing all of these sports, but she competes individually.

One soccer clinic just ended for DD2, another one continues through the month. Both kids are playing basketball.

I’m realizing that the Rec league in the town where the school resides is a waste of time. DD1 is in the 4th grade, and they’re still not calling traveling, fouls, lane violations, they can’t play man-to-man defense, etc. Coming back to our hometown isn’t an option. I don’t think she would make an AAU team. All of the club teams I’ve found are town-based. So I think she would have to try out for the school-town travel team, which requires 2 practices a week and games on Saturdays and Sundays over 30 minutes away. But if she wants a shot at playing for a school team in middle or high school, this has to happen.

[madringal]

In what has been a very flat swim season for DD1, she finally had some good time drops this past weekend. Not enough to get her to state, but she did pick up a few more divisional cuts. 3 more weeks and then we finally get some time off from this brutally long season (Labor day to mid march).

[186momx]

madringal, I always hated winter season. Ours went from October 1st to April 30th and then we started summer May 1st so no break. Our only break was from Mid August until end of September and that was mainly due to water polo hogging the pools and the pools being closed down for maintenance.

Gymnastics is really clicking for DD. I'm watching practice today as DD asked and I'm only working a half day because I have to meet with the school during school hours. No purple hair for her shoot thru until after competition season via the head coach which gives DD hope that she will get to compete this season.

Question: Level 3 has a travel meet Saturday aka it is an hour away easy freeway drive with minimal traffic. Like the crow flies and the time it takes is actually the same. Her coach really would like her to go to support her teammates. I asked DD if she wanted to go and she said she doesn't know because going might make her feel bad because she could compete but didn't get registered in time. Would you go or just skip it?

[covergirl82]

186momx, if there is politics involved with her attendance (i.e., if she doesn't go to support the team, it could impact her future involvement/level of participation), then I would go. I say that because sports in my area is really political (sadly, unfortunately).

[erinshelley21]

186momx I would go. In addition to politics in sports, it will give her an idea of what a competition is like if she hasn't competed before.

[covergirl82]

Vent... DH and I are ready for basketball to be over. It feels like DS's coach plays favorites (DH just refers to him as an a$$hole), and DS isn't one of them, and we're not sure why. (Although it's probably as simple as we're not buddies with the coach. Another kid often has a bad attitude and doesn't give 100%, but doesn't get yelled at by the coach, and we assume it's because this kid's parents are good friends with the coach.) He always seems to yell at DS (and a few other kids) more than others, even when they do the same thing wrong. (For example, he yelled at DS and switched him out when DS "didn't put enough pressure" on an opposing player, but when another teammate did the same thing, the coach didn't say a word and left him in.) The coach also yells at DS for taking a shot when there's an opening when it doesn't follow the specific play he called (and he never seems to give DS a chance at offensive plays), but again, doesn't yell at other players for doing the same thing. And now we've noticed that DS often looks at the coach after every play to see if he's going to get yelled at or not, which makes it seem like it's affecting DS's confidence. I would love for him to make the "A" team next year because the coaches are much better and not a-holes, but I don't see DS making that team unless he somehow makes significant strides in skill between now and next year (which probably won't happen because he'll be focused on baseball April - June/July and then football August - October). And I don't foresee the coach of the "B" team (which is the team DS is on) changing because I also don't see his son changing team level. And the majority of DS's friends play in this basketball club (some are on the A team, some are on the B team), so he isn't likely to not want to play in it next year.

[waverly]

I agree covergirl82 , for different reasons. Basketball is not a lot of fun to watch and watching DS is very cringeworthy. Many kids are ball hogs despite the coaches, and I guess he is nervous, but he spends most of his time (still after all these years), with his hands on his nose, mouth, or his shorts. The mouth I can understand as nerves. I don't understand why he is on his nose, or why boys need to adjust themselves 8 billion times a day- can anyone explain that to me?

Actually, I have literally had him explain it to me, and bought larger underwear and larger clothes and he still adjusts himself constantly. He says the pants squish it in or up or IDK.... But even so, then he will have his hand rest on the band or play with the drawstrings.  Like hey, DUDE, put your hands out for the basketball, how about that concept?

[divanerd]

Soccer starts up and not sure how I manage that with my current wacky schedule!

[madringal]

Well, its been 4+ months since DD2 broke her arm at gymnastics practice and I think I am finally ready to let her go back. I have tried everything in my power to get this kid to be a swimmer, but she isn't having it. So I guess I just need to make my peace with learning to be a gym mom (those chicks are crazy!).

So Monday we are going to try out a new gym. I never loved the one we were at before, and this one comes highly recommended. DD had just moved up to level 3 before breaking her arm, so we are going to start her in their level 2 and see how she does. We have bars and beams at home, so she has been practicing a little - but is definitely not where she was when she stopped.

I am a nervous wreck - so say a prayer for my nerves! I can't go through the broken bone business again!