We got a new team coach, I. His first day was Friday, he is a lefty and spots lefty. He coached at the gym that closed down during COVID. They introduced DD to him and said they needed to make friends as DD is a lefty. They did and whatever he did she went from having a heavy spotted kip to a 1 finger spotted kip. DD was so excited. I love that he doesn't know DD's background and all her struggles so no bias. Cranky T is out with her knee surgery so the optional coaches have been helping with the compulsory girls, DD has surprised them each night with what she can do. DD has made huge leaps on level 4 skills and is only missing the kip and is now working on level 5 skills.
DD2 is still in soccer and loving it. But she's been really off in her last 2 games. She just seems to be a step behind, and I can't figure out why. The first game was over an hour away, and I thought that the long car ride was to blame. But last week's was a home game, 10 mins away - and she still just couldn't seem to catch herself up. She has another game out of state this weekend, so I'm hoping she can figure it out.
DD1 is playing softball and seems happy. The girls on her team aren't as nice as last year, but she's enjoying winning every now and then. She's been playing catcher, but she pitched last night for the first time. She did really well in her first inning - 2 strike outs and a third grounder hit right to her, so she made the play at first. But the next inning the first batter - the best hitter in the league, hit a home run over the fence. She was rattled and walked a few batters after that.
She's also playing basketball, and that continues to be a frustrating experience for her. While several kids are improving and working well together, there are still some kids that just haven't figured out how to be a teammate. Some refuse to pass, and lose the ball every time. Some refuse to play defense. The coach benches some kids if they don't listen (usually the ones he has coached before, so they should know better), but keeps playing the others. The schedule is also difficult - we find out about Sat/Sun games the Thursday before, so it's difficult to plan anything.
Girls On The Run is going well. Both DDs are having a blast with it and are really happy they took a break from swim team to do this. I have to figure out what we're going to do for the end of year 5k though. It's in a month and both of them are supposed to have a running buddy. I obviously can't do it this year given my health. ExH did it last year but hasn't mentioned it at all this year. I'm thinking maybe my sister will help out.
mae0111, could your DD2 maybe be growing and just kind of off because her body feels different even if the growth spurt isn't noticeable. twinmomma, is your Girls on the Run program run through school? DD's teammate is also doing it via her school which is in the same district as us. My DD hates to run so a 5k would be murder.
DD and I have been walking on non gym days where it isn't raining. We go a little over a mile in about 30 minutes.
186momx - I don’t know - maybe?? She grew 3.5 inches last year 😳. She’s quick to get where she’s supposed to be on the field and then… awkward? I don’t know. But a growth spurt makes sense.
Her elbows are still as sharp as ever. Yellow cards everywhere…
DD made the 10U all-star softball team (luckily, since I was having trouble sleeping and having nightmares that all her friends made it from last year's 8U team except her . She has practice everyday this week, then 3-4 times a week after that. Her first tournament is this weekend, and then there's a tournament every weekend between now and early July. So it's a really compressed/intense season.
Last year she tried out for all-stars on a whim and was really more into the friend part than the softball part. This year she asks DH to practice with her every night, and spends all her free time watching softball games and tutorials on her iPad. So I'm really excited that she gets to progress even more with the great all-star coaches. She did awesome at the first practice last night, and I think the coaches recognized already how hard she's been working recently. Fingers crossed for her to be able to really help her team during the tournaments.
186momx, Yes, it's through school. DD1 also hates to run. Last year during the summer fun run series we signed up for, she literally walked as slowly as possible and then CRAWLED for one part of it just to prove a point. It was mortifying. But Girls On The Run is so much more than running - I think of it as a lot more like Girl Scouts that just happens to have running as part of it. She loves it!
DD's sync team that only had practice on Thursdays from 4-5pm now also has practice on Thursdays from 6:14-7:15pm, and Saturday mornings at 7:30. Sooooooooooooooooooooo that's fun.
DS is at an inflection point. Soccer is (starting in fall) going to be more of a commitment. Rec soccer is 2 practices a week plus a game, and comp is.. more than that. Of course, you don't find out the schedule until AFTER you commit. Last week, DS was adamant that he wanted to quit soccer for hockey, this week, he's adamant he wants to quit hockey for soccer. Needless to say, DS will not be persuing comp soccer at age 6, considering he has no idea or prefernce. Which is sad, since his best friend, and probably the reason he's wanted to play soccer, will be trying out for comp, so they'll be separated going forward. And I loose my "hang out and chat with my friend (his friend's mom)" time.
k3am , you'll make new friends with the rec soccer parents! And he can probably do both rec soccer and hockey, right?
We are insane, because last fall DD played rec soccer, rec softball, and select softball (still not nearly the time commitment or cost of club soccer). This year she wants to add flag football to the list. DS1 is signed up for rec soccer and will likely do fall baseball (he wants to try baseball again now that he's helping DD practice softball more), and maybe flag football as well.
I think we'll be able to swing it, because flag football games are always Friday nights, soccer is always Saturdays, and softball is always Sundays. So there shouldn't be any game overlap. It's all rec, so not a huge deal if there's a practice conflict here and there. Also, my parents will be here for 6 weeks during the season, so we have more adults to help. And because we decided to send DS2 to TK instead of K this year, we don't feel much pressure to start him in sports yet.
Post by edwardo123 on May 10, 2022 18:29:05 GMT -5
My oldest just finished middle school track and just missed qualifying for the state meet. She is hoping to try again in eighth grade. She’s now all in for long course swim.
My youngest just started gymnastics team. She has two three hour practices a week. We have until mid-June to decide if she’s all in for the season. That’s when uniforms, bags, meet fees, etc start needing to be purchased. I was really hoping she hated it, but so far she loves it. She is finishing up club swim June 1 and is going to join the rec league for fun summer swim.
My kiddos had swim team tryouts yesterday to be placed in the right stroke classes. Luckily, they are in the same class, though DD will likely move up before DS does. They both looked like they hadn’t been in a pool since last year since… they hadn’t been in a pool since last year. I think DS is going to love it. I think DD will tolerate it. But the girl needs to get some exercise.
DD1 just finished her track season. Had some good runs, set some new PRs in her mile. Meanwhile she started practicing with the HS swim team. As a rising freshman, she would do a few practices here and there around her track season. She LOVES the HS team and is having such a great experience so far. Swam a LC meet with this past weekend and did great, for only having been to about a half dozen practices. And yesterday she was named Swimmer of the Week
DD2 is back to diving. She has picked up several new skills in the past few weeks and has her first intermural meet later this month. She is so excited!
DD3 is swimming away on the swim team. Seriously probably the cutest thing on the planet. She is really enjoying it this season and goes maybe 3-4 days a week. We also put her back in soccer. She has been begging, but we just did not like the club atmosphere, so we went back to rec. YMCA soccer for as long as humanely possible!
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Tuesday night the head coach of the gym asked to talk to me. These talks are never a good thing. She asked me if I knew H was leaving (DD's private lesson coach) and I said yes. Then she offered to take over DD's private lessons. I did a good job keeping my mouth off the floor and said we would think about it. She then goes DD really is just lacking confidence. This is the same coach that has given us deadlines, threatened to kick us off, and told us before that no team coaches has time to do extra one on one sessions
I've texted with H and she didn't know that head coach was going to offer and she didn't discuss it with her before hand. We are going to discuss on Friday but she had someone else in mind for DD that is willing to do it and continue working outside the box.
186momx- it sounds like H is worried you’re going to jump to another gym. I would want to know the plan for how to help with the confidence issue before agreeing since H’s idea of motivation up to this point has been a nasty cocktail if threats and intimidation of a freaking elementary/early middle schooler.
Post by soccermama on May 12, 2022 14:27:09 GMT -5
DS finished up his soccer season last weekend, I am glad to be done! He loves playing soccer and I feel like his game really improved this season. He wants to play all next year as well.
DD just started with her competitive volleyball league a couple of weeks ago, and so far its good. I'm so glad she found a sport that she is passionate for! She played soccer for 3 years, but soccer just was not her jam. I think she is doing well & we are very hopeful that she will make the middle school team in August. Fingers crossed!!!
DD1 played softball and basketball after being out for over a week with a bad chest cold. She did well in softball - several good hits, did well at catcher. The team won.
Then she went to basketball. Her coach is out with COVID so the assistant stepped in. Only 7 kids showed up to play. He played DD1 for a total of 5 minutes of a 28 minute game. Her team lost 43-7, so it wasn’t like he was keeping the stars in to play. She’s supposed to play at 8am tomorrow 45 mins away. The team they’re playing tomorrow beat the team DD1’s team played today by 20 point. She asked if she could miss the game. Normally I’d encourage her to go, but I’d prefer not to race out of the house at 7am to watch her sit on the bench again. So we are skipping it.
DD2 has a soccer game tomorrow afternoon. It’s going to be 91° at game time, which means over 100° on the turf. Yikes.
DD2 had her first diving meet this past weekend and it was such a great experience. She did amazing! So proud of her and man alive, is the atmosphere just so much better for her than gymnastics. Gymnastics always felt like we were trying to prove she belonged, feeling like you have to keep up or get out, always pushing for the next level - at 9 years old! No sport should make a kid cry at 9 years old bc the don't feel "good enough"!
Dive is just a breathe of fresh air, and like swim, just a really supportive community. She works at her own pace, she learns skills as she is comfortable, and as the very youngest kid on the team, everyone is so supportive and excited for her when she learns new skills.
She was the only diver in the elementary age division, so she was an automatic 1st place. She stood on that podium alone and was beaming with pride. We have ourselves a competitive diver, folks!
madringal, I have so much awe for divers. My DH lived in an apartment right next to a group of D1 divers when we met and they were just monster athletes! I can’t believe she’s that brave when she’s only 9!
I did not want to do club, but a girls only super laid back (I think) club has started just for her age group. We can do season by season so if she only wants to do fall she can do so, or she can add on winter and/ or add on spring.
So anyway, she did try outs last night and goes Tuesday as well. She likes that it was girls only, and she had fun during try outs.
I thought DS would do club first, but DD is only interested in one sport. And DS is interested in soccer, flag football, and basketball, so he doesn't want to specialize which is good for his body at least.
OMG The drama around club soccer around here is amazing.
We are looking for a new club for DD2. Her current club is expensive, disorganized, and they moved their main facility to a spot that's 30 mins away on a good day. The guy they're putting in charge of on-field operations is such a hot mess. I'm honestly surprised he finds his way to work every day. They're putting him in this new job because the parents of all of the kids he coaches threatened to leave the club if they didn't get a new coach.
So I reached out to a bunch of clubs.
Club A is well established, and by chance, her awesome coach from last year is now the head of her age group there. But they were decimated in our area when the former head of the age group left and took all the players with him to Club B. So they really don't have any teams for her age group right now, but he's trying to build them from scratch.
Club B is good, but was primarily a boys club for a long time. So there aren't a lot of girls teams and the ones they have are ultra competitive.
Club C is by far the best club around. It also requires all players to sign a contract stating that they will never miss any practices or games unless it's a school obligation or a serious illness/injury. 3 unexcused absences results in getting kicked off the team. DD2 is 9. No way.
Club D is coached by parents, has no access to an indoor facility, plays on a muddy field that often floods and results in practice cancellations. They often don't have enough players, which means 9 year olds are playing against 12 year olds and getting destroyed every game.
Club A coach wanted to come and see DD2 play yesterday, along with several other former players. But he was warned to stay away, because any players seen talking to him would be "noted" when team assignments came out. WTAF?
It's just all so insane. I'm leaning heavily toward having her go to play for Club A. Club A coach is actively recruiting her current coach, who is also pretty awesome.
mommyatty, I know, right? I am a cringy mess when she looks like any of them are going to hit the board! It took her awhile to work up to the ones where she enters the water arms/face first rather than feet first, but she is getting there! She got her back entry (standing backwards and basically bending over into a backbend shape and entering the water hands/head first) last week and was able to do it at the meet. She was so proud!
She is actually 10 now, but she was 9 when gymnastics was making her cry. But either way, so brave! Impresses me daily! (but not actually daily, bc unlike gymnastics she doesn't have to commit her entire life to being on the team. She goes 2 days a week right now and is also able to do theater.
Soccer is DONE. So now we're down to DD's sync, and skate lessons for both kids. I have two more weeks of sync practice at 7:30am, a competition, and then we get a month or so off for Saturday morning practices.
DD got her costume for sync last week. She's such a little lady and very concerned that she "needs to wear a bra" under it, but it's backless, and she's 9, with puberty a long ways off. I think it just itches.
DS is adamant that he now wants to quit soccer AND hockey, and wants to take up golf. Or swimming. DD was never this scatterbrained and I don't know how to deal with it. He must do something.
Try outs have gotten more complicated. This is the second year of the “club” and they actually advertised this year so I guess a lot of girls showed up, and she’s only doing one team. So now we have to go Thursday and do a second round of tryouts provided we don’t get cut in the first round. Ugh. Just decide already! It’s going to end up being 5-6 practices just to see if she is on the team.
My oldest quit fencing after 5 years. He was at his peak-at one point he was 10th on the east coast and most of these elites are like homeschooled to fence! He was winning 1st in state competitions of like 20ish kids. He wants to focus on baseball. It’s sad, but I think he will go back in the future. Baseball is like 3/week and when I can’t take him, my parents do or I asked for help from the coach to ask other parents and a family has helped me out. I am so grateful for my community.
Middle daughter is just playing w kids in the neighborhood but will do field hockey camp this summer.
Little adhd baby (6) is in karate at my gym so I can work out, older two play bball. Everyone’s happy.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
DD2 had one game earlier and one more later. We had a talk about her lack of effort after her last game. I told her if I didn’t start seeing more effort in today’s first game, it would be her last game of the season.
She turned it on in a big way today. She worked so hard. They ended up winning 4-3 today. Near the end, her gk knocked down a shot, but didn’t catch the ball. The other team was winding up to shoot and she came seemingly out of nowhere and booted the ball out of play. Best play of the game 😊. She asked me like 4 times if I saw the play. She was so, so proud of herself. I was so glad to see it.