DS does a sport related event about once every 2 months. A mom texted me to get a group together, and I was like oh yeah he already does that. It's just funny because she is a big group coordinator, but if we ask she always says no, but if it is her idea then it is a go.
The other funny thing is that he does this because his friends were busy doing other activities, so it was kind of our thing. I know no one owns public events or anything, but just funny because it was his thing to do with other friends. Then, I felt slightly guilty for not asking them, but they are both in more activities than DS is, and since they usually say no, I have tapered off on asking. It's the kind of event where he always has a friend there because it is aimed at middle school boys, so I never felt the need to coordinate going with a friend. But anyway, I am sure he will have fun, and no real point to this rambling. Just kind of weird that they were coordinating like it was a novel thing, and I was like oh we do that already.
I may kick myself for saying this buttt......I'm so glad winter sports will start for my kids soon!!! The reason I will kick myself is because I will get sick of taking them. LOL. I think they are going to love getting back into sports, feels like it was a long time since the fall season ended.
It will start back for both of them in mid-January. Basketball for DS, and v-ball for DD. I was so glad to find a volleyball program starting up this month, we don't seem to have many that do a winter season around here....mostly fall and spring.
Both kids are still doing piano. I really enjoy listening to their playing. They like it enough that I don't have to nag them about practicing. They just decide to sit and play whenever they want. So that's good.
Both kids are playing rec basketball, and DD1 is playing for her school as well. The season is really starting to ramp up. DD1 has 3 games on Fri and Sat this weekend, DD2 has 1.
Indoor soccer for DD2 starts next weekend, as does spring training for her travel league. So she'll have games every Sunday and training every other. It's going to be a lot, but they do so much better when they're busy.
So next weekend will look like this:
Friday night: DD1 basketball game Saturday: DD2 basketball game, then DD1 basketball game, then DD1 basketball game Sunday: DD2 indoor soccer game, DD2 indoor soccer training while DD1 has basketball game Monday: All the sleeping since it's a long weekend Tuesday: DD1 Basketball game an hour away starting at 730 pm
Since I'm coaching DD1, I get to do 90% of the running around.
soccermama, I'm with you - happy they're busy, but OMG what did I do.
DD's first meet in Sunday at 8am so I will update how things went. She is starting to get really nervous.
Next 4 months are just crazy and to add to it I now need to coordinate rides for DD since I'm working late. Tuesday afternoon-is going to be a mix of friends and a neighbor Wed private is grandma dropping off and DH hopefully picking her up. I set 3 reminders and need to text him to remind at lunch today. Today is the test and if it doesn't work the neighbor offered to pick her up. Thurs-grandma is doing drop off Fri-is gym friend's dad.
DH said he has to work and won't be able to commit to any practice drop offs because work comes first. He said he could tell me by 3:30 if he could take her and I said that was too late and we would figure it out without him. Today is the big test. If he shows after 4:15 or just blows her off I need to just figure something else out. Yesterday he called me at 3:30 and was home (eye rolling)
My plan is to just work until it is time to pick her up at 7:30 and bring myself dinner to work.
We got a digital piano as a family Christmas gift, so I need to organize piano lessons for the kids.
Basketball is ongoing (one practice and game each week for both of the older kids).
Softball for DD starts up again this weekend with a clinic and then next weekend with tryouts both days.
DS1 wanted to do baseball this spring after not playing for the past couple years, so we've been taking him for hitting lessons and he has his tryout/evaluation for the baseball draft next weekend. Luckily opening day isn't until late February. We signed DS3 up for t-ball through the same league.
Then both older kids are also doing soccer, but just through a winter league for DS1 and an arena league for DD, both of which just have one game a week and no practices - my kind of sport They get to have fun and exercise, but not many logistics to deal with.
Post by mustardseed2007 on Jan 4, 2023 13:57:29 GMT -5
Both kids are doing piano
DD is doing: Coding, Drums, Art and PSIA academic comepetition in creative writing DS is doing: Theater class at the playhouse where he has been doing productions (not an after school production), Theater Production at school with practice during school hours, Voice, PSIA competition in 4 areas
I was going to try to get DS into a tap class but it's been tricky to find one and I may not bother with it since he's already doing 2 off campus after school activities, 3 if you count PSIA.
DD, I'm very excited about drums but I'm also very wary that it will crash and burn fast. We shall see.
DD (9) is in Girl Scouts year-round. She will also do YMCA Rec soccer. Hoping she can play up with the 10-11s who are all her fourth grade classmates (they have fall birthdays and hers is summer).
DS (5) is now in Cub Scouts and will also do YMCA soccer for the first time. I took him to a kid yoga class on Monday and he LOVED it so maybe that will become a new weekly activity too.
I've really enjoyed the last couple weeks with no sports. And also assumed that by not having class/practice, that we would not be hauling it over to the rink regularly... but have still been doing it anyways, but with extra kids in tow for public skate.
DD has sync tryouts on Saturday. Neither of us are too worried about the possbility of her not making it. Eventually she'll want to move up to the harder team, but even though her skill level will be there soon, her height won't be, which makes things a little more difficult. If you've ever watched the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader show, just think of girls getting cut because they're so short that the kickline doesn't look right - I highly doubt that they're that ruthless with a youth comp team, but it's something DD has mentioned being worried about.
DD is doing MakerSpace club one day a week, after school Musical theater one day a week, and is starting acting class in Feb. DS is doing the same acting class and will likely add ninja classes if we can find a time that works.
DD is doing MakerSpace club one day a week, after school Musical theater one day a week, and is starting acting class in Feb. DS is doing the same acting class and will likely add ninja classes if we can find a time that works.
DD2 would love a makerspeace club! That’s so cool. Though, granted, my H is a tinkerer and we already own a pla printer, a resin printer, and he’s trying to convince me we need a laser cutter two. H and DD2 basically are their own makerspace club, lol.
DD is doing MakerSpace club one day a week, after school Musical theater one day a week, and is starting acting class in Feb. DS is doing the same acting class and will likely add ninja classes if we can find a time that works.
DD2 would love a makerspeace club! That’s so cool. Though, granted, my H is a tinkerer and we already own a pla printer, a resin printer, and he’s trying to convince me we need a laser cutter too. H and DD2 basically are their own makerspace club, lol.
Post by librarychica on Jan 5, 2023 10:19:37 GMT -5
DD1’s show choir is in quiet mode until they start ramping up for the spring show. She has taekwondo a few days a week but it’s right next door. She may add a night of sparring club soon. This year is the busiest she’s ever been. It’s like a 5th grade explosion of stuff.
DD2 has guitar lessons weekly. She’s getting pretty good IMO.
DD1 (14) - is about halfway through her 1st HS swim season and is just killing it. We really went into this season hoping she would be able to swim varsity events occasionally. She has swam only varsity events, and is just dominating. It's been unreal to watch. We knew her club coach wasn't the best, but watching the change and growth from her HS coaches has only made it more clear. They have made her such a versatile swimmer that they honestly struggle with what events to put her in. Championship season is coming and it's going to be GOOD!
DD2 (11)- legit in so many clubs/school activities it's almost impossible to keep track of. Robotics team, kindness club, choir, trivia club, church drama team, gymnastics (rec- just once a week), and starting today: Playwriting/producing/performing club. She LOVES theater, and has been in several plays through local groups, but this is her first "school play" opportunity. She can't wait!
DD3 (7) - Is so over swim team, lol. Just a few weeks left. I haven't signed her up for anymore meets though. She is really good, just doesn't love it and well, I am not going to force it (even though I will be really sad if my days as a swim mom are over after DD1). We will take the summer off and revisit in the fall. She is enjoying her weekly gymnastics class, and signed up for Lego Club after school.
Post by traveltheworld on Jan 6, 2023 1:09:24 GMT -5
DS (10) still has hockey, swimming, and piano. He didn't make the cut for the spring hockey team, so we need to figure out what he is going to do for spring sports. He doesn't want to do soccer; so we may just take it easy for a few months.
DD (7) has gymnastics, dance, swimming, girl guides and piano. She's honestly way too busy, but everything is a year long commitment; so we'll just have to get through it. Luckily she loves it all.
DD1 had 2 basketball games today, and lost both by 2 points. One was in OT. Devastating losses.
BUT... She played the best I've ever seen her play in her second game. I tried to give her a little pep talk because I thought she was jogging a little too much in her first game (not running). But she hustled hard and really did well. Scored a few points, blocked a few shots, got a few rebounds, mixed it up under the boards. I was proud.
I had to miss DD2's game to coach DD1's, but apparently they barely lost after leading for the whole game. She was devastated and sulked for the rest of the morning. Neither DD1 nor DD2 has won a rec game this season. But DD1's teams have lost them all by literally 2 points (two of 4 in OT) and DD2 typically gets blown out by 20pts.
I was wondering how kid A&B mysteriously got to be together on a team when the league doesn’t take requests and there is a skills assessment. So then dad of friend A tells me that mom of Friend B threw an epic fit over the skills assessment and that to appease her they put them together. Massive eyeroll. I guess some people don’t think they have to follow the rules and even more so that the dad was bragging to me about it. Yay, great for you, so excited. By the way thanks for bragging to the person that you planned to do this league with and then inadvertently left out due to mom’s tantrum.
DD had a rough meet. Went 1st on beam and fell on her cartwheel but still had a decent score. Floor warm ups looked great and her tumbling looked awesome. Something happened during her double back handspring pass and she faceplanted the landing of the 2nd back handspring. Think the college girls sometimes finish tumbling by going to push up and bouncing out. That is what it looked like but slow mow. She was able to finish the routine and with the music but walked off in tears. Vault was probably the best but just didn't score well and she scratched bars because no kip still. We have another meet in 2 weeks and she says she wants to work XYZ this week in practice and didn't seem to mind having a bad meet because she can only improve from here. Silver lining?
The girls are still going to parkour once a week. They really love it, sometimes I wish it was more than just one hour a week. But I'm also grateful that it's an easy activity with low commitment.
Last week the girls both wanted to quit band. I was totally fine with it and wasn't going to force them to stick it out. I emailed the band teacher and she wrote back totally shocked because the girls are some of the strongest students when it comes to picking up on all the musical theory stuff and always have good attitudes in class. She thinks they're just getting down on themselves because they can't really play real songs yet - but they've only had these instruments since September! She's going to pep talk them and convince them to stick it out. So we'll see how that plays out.
Beau's son (Do I call him DSS now?) is still doing taekwondo and enjoying it. DD2 keeps saying she wants to do it too, but I really want beau's son to have his own thing without the girls there. He's such a shy, quiet kid. He doesn't need his super loud, outgoing older step sister there taking over inadvertently.
The girls are both itching to try new activities after school, so I'm on the hunt for options. Next year they'll have all kinds of school based clubs to do when they move up to the middle school. This year they're in a tricky age spot. A lot of the rec teams that teach basic skills are only for little kids. They assume at this age that they've already been playing the sport and are good at it. So we may or may not find something. I am investigating a lot of new summer camp options for them though, so that will help mix things up when the time comes.
My oldest is a Jr and I feel so bad for him. 6 of the 10 JV kids are called up to Varsity at this point and he is not one of them. Which makes zero sense to me. I know I'm "mom" but a couple others that were called up are not better than him. One is so freaking clumsy and misses passes and baskets constantly. But he is 6'6 so apparently that gives him a pass.
Another does take more shots but again, super clumsy and has tons of turnovers. My son doesn't take a lot of shots but he runs the plays clean, his passes are on point and he is alway where he is supposed to be...but he hesitates to shoot. thats the only reason I can think of thats holding him back over others. It's frustrating.
He did take 7 shots (got 2 x 3's) in his last game and his coach said keep shooting because they are great shots. Hopefully he can start feeling more confident.
I did speak with him about how he is feeling and he is in good spirits. He said "well C and D were not called up last year as juniors and one is now a starting Varsity player and the other plays a lot.
DS2 finally graduated to the next level in Karate. I'm pretty underwhelmed with the school at this point though. They definitely are cliquey and my son is NOT a favorite so he doesn't get much attention. Admittedly, he does other things along with Karate but it appears that because he's not homeschooled and not there every night training, there's a barrier there. It's frustrating because I pay just as much as those others and while I don't expect him to advance as fast, why isn't that good enough? some kids don't want to compete. Some just want to learn the skill. As an example, in the new class, he was NOT introduced to anyone. But a girl his level came back to the school after a 6 month absence and was welcomed with open arms and introduced to the class. I was pretty ticked to hear that.
I know I'm likely seeing. things through mom glasses but still irritating
cjcouple, I hear you. I get so frustrated by the level of politics in youth sports. I always thought that by coaching I'd have more control - but we got screwed just as badly as if I had no involvement at all.
Over the weekend, DD1 had a town rec game and did really well. She was marked up against a kid her age that made one of the travel teams (DD1 got cut). This kid just... could not hang. She wasn't having a bad day. I've seen her play over a dozen times. She's just not good. DD1 burned her every time - stole the ball, intercepted her passes, dribbled around her and scored against her, or just lost her to get open and hit a jumper. Literally all the kid did was scratch the crap out of DD1 and her teammates - they were all bleeding by halftime because she has super sharp fingernails.
But DD1 got cut because that girl's parents are well-known in town, so she makes the teams.
Same with DD2 - she's playing soccer 2 levels below kids that literally CANNOT KICK THE BALL. One jumps in the air to kick it and misses it 90% of the time. Other kids don't stay in position and never pass, but don't have a good shot either. But one dad is the coach and other parents are all friends, so... there you go. I feel a little bit better about this because there are some REALLY good players on her team - and I can't figure out their placement either - and the coaches are awesome and the kids are really nice. So I think she'll have a fun season.
Would your son ever approach the coaches and ask what he has to do to be considered for a call-up? Sometimes advocating and working on specific things will help. If he has a few things and really shows the coaches he's working on them, that might be the boost he needs to get him to varsity.
DD and DS1 both had basketball games yesterday at the same time in the same arena. I stood in between the two courts and just looked back and forth and really loved watching them both play. They both tried really hard and were good teammates and good listeners for their coaches. DD lost by a lot but she was one of the players contributing the most, and DS1's team won, even though he didn't make any great plays or score any points. We got a basketball hoop for our front patio as a family Christmas gift. DD has been out there a lot practicing and is already making progress - yesterday she made both of her free throws on a shooting foul, which hadn't yet happened in her season and a half of playing basketball.
cjcouple- could the coaches be leaving him on JV so he can build his confidence? If he’s not bothered by it, I would leave it alone. I hate what you’re describing with taekwondo though. My DD isn’t a flashy kid. She listens quietly and does as she’s told, and I’ve noticed she often gets ignored because she isn’t little Princess Lookatme Lookatme. It’s hurting her in her theater club because she just always knows her lines and what she’s supposed to do, so she’s often put with weaker kids so she can help them. I may actually step in and complain if it’s happening again this semester. I pay far too much for my kid to be the unpaid assistant and get crap roles so she has time to be the unpaid assistant.
Post by librarychica on Jan 10, 2023 10:23:33 GMT -5
mommyatty, I’ve noticed that pattern with my oldest. She is quick to pick up on things, quiet, generally obedient (for people who aren’t me), and she is a naturally nurturing. As a result she seems to be paired with the struggling kids in taekwondo, or the least on-the-ball partners, she is always “helping” others in her school classes. It’s fine to a point but H has talked to the taekwondo master about it and I’ve had to tell her it is okay to not want to jump in and help in school, you are there to learn not to teach, lmk if it’s too much.
Side note, friends often expect free babysitting and entertainment of toddlers at parties from her because she likes little ones. I flat out told one woman she should pay her.
I am the same personality type and we sometimes have to be a little loud to make people realize they are taking advantage.
I had that happen a lot in school not extra curriculars, but to be fair I was only in dance, Girl Scouts, and band when I was young all of which had proper leadership. But in school, there is a pedagogic approach of doing 4 kids in a group. The 4 kids would comprise of a high achiever, 2 medium achievers and the low achiever. And I was the leader in many instances. I sometimes took a step back as I got older and made other people be the leader, but I was put in that position with the idea that I would help the other students because I was high achieving and mostly behaved.
Sorry I disappeared. I went to reply 3 times yesterday but things are crazy. lol
mae0111, He definitely won't ask. There may be some shake up with coaches anyway. The Varsity coach is out on med leave.
mommyatty, Possibly. I definitely wouldn't step in. I mean he's in High school so unless its something truly over the line he needs to be his own advocate. And he is getting more confident and taking more shots.
The karate thing is super frustrating but he just moved up to the teen/adult class so I will give it time. For us it seems you need to be signing up for all the extra to be a favored students. (camps, comps, banquet which is all $$$). They have a comp in UK coming up in the spring so those students will get preferential training.
He did sign up for demo team last summer where they performed for the local fairs/events and he grew a lot so we will see how competitions go with that this summer and go from there.
I worked with him on how to introduce himself in class with his partner(s), etc. He is the highest level in that class so hopefully he will get some small group training.
I'm sorry your daughter is being overlooked. Makes me so mad for her/you.
My 13 yo is overlapping right now with 3 theater shows (one for school drama class, one play, and one community theater musical). Luckily she only have a big part in one, but the practices might just take us down this week.
My 10 yo is also in two community musicals (one with his sister, but, of course, practice can’t be on the same night 🤦♀️). He also does scouts year around, but that’s Sunday afternoons, so low key.
Add us to the quiet works well on her own and becomes the assistant to everyone. It bugs me more than DD. I will say that DD's teachers this year are a lot better at calling on other kids before DD. They have been doing lots of group projects and Ms D keeps moving DD around because the kids are taking advantage of her.
Our biggest sports issue right now is that the coaches keep telling DD to fix XYZ but none of them will tell her how to fix it or physically help her fix it. So XYZ isn't getting fixed because DD can't figure out how to fix it and her coaches are frustrated with her.
DD1’s team lost a tough game against a dirty team who then trashed the school bathroom after the game. DD1 refused to leave until it was cleaned up because she didn’t want to leave a mess for the school custodian. Proud of my girl but disappointed in the other team.
Dd2’s basketball team won their first game today. One of the star players stopped shooting after a while and would feed the ball to the kids that hadn’t scored. Dd2 ended up with 4 points. It was just what she needed.
DD1’s school team won this morning against an undefeated team. Both teams were classy and fought hard. I’m planning to email the principal of the other team because I was just really impressed with the attitudes of the players and the fans. After last night I was kind of expecting the worst.
Then DD1 had her town rec game. It was… awful. The stars played really poorly. Several boys were removed from the gym for harassing the players. But the worst part was that the good players, because they really couldn’t play today, all lashed out at DD1. She was crying by the end. She played well. She is not a star but she held her own, good shots, good rebounds, shut down their big scorer at the end of the game. But they were pissed that they sucked and they took it out on her.