waverly - I always let the coaches know. Sometimes no one can make it for various reasons, and it stinks to be the coach with 1-2 kids that were dropped off and no one else. Then you have to hold a useless practice when you could have just canceled.
Except for DD1’s coach. I don’t like him so I don’t communicate with him at all, even with the really easy RSVP on the app.
waverly, we do. The gym asks even the rec families to please let them know if you are going to be absent. They keep attendance at all levels and yes we pay if we come or not. For the summer the head team coach asks that we let them know in advance of vacations so they can plan coaches.
DD auditioned for the next level up for sync on Saturday. It's hard to tell where she'll come out. Her coach texted and said she did great, and it seemed like the entire audition group was pretty evenly matched.
But they only had about 10 girls there and make up auditions are this weekend. We know that last season, there were 19 girls at the level she was applying towards and not all of them were looking to move up to the next level. The team is required to be "majority 12-14" and she is only 10 (soon to be 11) and she is comparatively short (height differences cause a disadvantage).
I am somewhat confident that she'll move up, but she will be devastated if she doesn't. Two of her besties on team are both older than her and significantly taller - they couldn't stay on the current team even if they wanted to. And the new kids trying out seem *so* small, even compared to DD. We have discussed that if she doesn't move up, it's an opportunity for her to take on a leadership/role model position.
The new team would have practices at an inconvenient time, but would allow her to take an edge class she'll really benefit from, and because she's the shortest, she would always be on the end of the line at shows and easy for me to spot.
But man, taking two weeks off from having to drive out there was really nice.
I decided to send a blanket email to the coach for the winter season. I really didn’t want to email weekly but if DS will miss Tuesdays for basketball most weeks then I figure that covers it.
DD got invited to callbacks for another audition. Nerve wracking. It does not sound like everyone got the email, so not sure if they’re on the fence about DD or something else.
ETA: Of her two besties on the team that have been with her for multiple season, one has a callback, the other doesn't. I am holding off texting the other girls on her current team that also auditioned for the level up, since I don't know those parents as well.
DH is giving me live updates of callbacks. She fell in a spin and ate it on a jump split. Two areas she’s never had trouble with. He said there’s a LOT of girls. Not optimistic.
Post by librarychica on Jan 17, 2024 10:45:44 GMT -5
I am grouponing it up today. DD1 has been wanting to try silks/lyra. She has zero experience so I am starting with an aerial yoga class I have taken before. Per my friend who does this sort of thing (she’s the one who dragged me to the aerial yoga class until she was too pregnant to flip), that’s the best bet to get her familiar with the equipment/techniques. They had a 10 class package on Groupon. If she likes it, I’ll sign her up later for one of the circus school or performance art classes. The advantage of living in a tourist destination is that we have more than one circus school, lol.
We have our first class tonight. Yes, I’m going with her. She says she wants it to be a thing we do together and I could use the exercise.
DD2 is on my last nerve lately. I think she could use some engagement other than music and drama so after her play is over I am going to give her a choice: return to ice skating, try tennis (it is offered at the park down the road), take a kids aerial yoga class.
I need to decide if I’m going to the Girl Scout campout. Feel free to weigh in.
Last time- it was way way too long. Arrival time is 10 am. Too early for me.
The activities were over scheduled and sub par. They tried their best but it wasn’t fun. It was like they had activities to keep us busy as opposed to hanging out. Last time it was too hot but this time will be March so lots of indoor time with no outdoor time.
It’s a mom and me camp out and there are too many moms there frankly. Everyone is “nice” but you are tripping over them and you have some that kind of ignore others maybe because they were the organizers but it wasn’t a friendly vibe from them especially since they were the ones in charge. Meanwhile there was a lot of wow this is so great. You could tell they put a lot of work into it but there just wasn’t those giggles from the girls where you can tell they were having a blast. It was more overworked moms chugging through tasks than anything. And there was plenty of mom’s to help so there wasn’t really a reason for it and they didn’t have the girls help hardly at all and they were 4th grade at the time. Also they limited our coffee intake the morning after.
Not much sleep and if we do attend we may not spend the night. DD had the same complaints and I didn’t tell her my thoughts beforehand. She came to a similar conclusion.
I feel like it would be much better with maybe a more interesting location, 1-2 structured activities instead of 10 and not a mom and me event. A shorter time frame. The girls need to be in charge and doing most of the chores. Thoughts?
waverly, in terms of letting a coach know my kid will miss a practice, I usually text or email the coach letting them know that our kid will miss the practice. I'd rather be over communicative than not.
However, when DD2 was doing martial arts, there was very little communication from the instructors who manage the program. It was a very big class that was run two nights a week, so I didn't feel the need to tell them every time DD missed. Likewise, they never took attendance.
waverly, that sounds horrible. Could you just go later in the day and say sorry we wont' be able to make it until 3pm due to other obligations?
DD's meet yesterday was a disaster. She had an allergic reaction after her first event. She was stuck in the bathroom stall with explosive poop and covered in hives (face, chest, arms, torso). It was a stressful afternoon. One of my gym moms just announced to the stands that anyone who had allergy meds or Imodium to please come to the hall due to an emergency. We did get some and they did kick in so she could leave the restroom but she scratched the rest of the meet. We stayed until the girls finished and then drove the 3.5hours home as I wanted to make sure she was solid before doing the drive. Even more embarrassing was the event center had to call the paramedics. They never interacted with DD but they were there just in case which is good and I'm glad DD didn't have to be check out by them. This also is the same event place state will be held at in March.
I'm pretty sure she has an issue with alternative sugars. She had the strawberry syrup at IHOP when we ate brunch instead of regular syrup. This was the same issue she had with the kid toothpaste that contains xylitol. I'm going to email her pedi and see if we can get her allergy testing.
DD is not moving up a level. The season hasn't even started and I'm already frustrated. Their congratulations letter says that this season, they did not sort teams based on skill level, solely on age. So she does not move up. So why did I need to take her to tryouts AND call backs? Luckily the girls that she is closest to do not move up either, so they'll be together, and I think she cares the most about that. But she's already annoyed that she will have a third year competing at the same skill level.
Personal annoyance - they sent a very confusing letter saying that she made team color, but not team number. They have only EVER gone by numbers, there's no explanation of what color corresponds with what team. I only figured it out based on the practice time. So they're setting the stage early that we should expect another year of confusion and shitty communication.
k3am that is frustrating, but I'm glad she's with her friends.
My DS1 (4th grade) and DS2 (kindergarten) got their assignments for baseball teams. We had kept DS1 back in the 8-10 year old division, even though most 10-year-olds move up to the next division, mainly because he's only played one real season last year and many of the kids had been playing for a lot longer. And he's small for his age. But also because we were hoping he could stay with the same coach/team he was with last year - the coach is a friend of ours. Even though there's a draft, we assume that he wasn't one of the top players, so it shouldn't have been too hard for a coach to pick him. But we got his team assignment and we know no one on the team, so that's really disappointing. When we run into our friend who was his old coach, I'm sure we'll figure out what happened. To DS1, we told him that there aren't that many 10-year-olds in the division, and so another team picked him first - which could very well be what happened. We're sad for him that he knows no one on his new team. He's not the most skilled baseball player, but he's a good teammate and DH and I paid to sponsor the team when they couldn't find a company sponsor, so I doubt it was an issue of the coach not wanting him on the team/thinking our family didn't contribute.
In contrast, DS2 is on a team with all of his friends, and coached by our friends, too. But for him for arena soccer, DH never forwarded me the form to fill out to put in friend or coach requests, so DS2 is on a team with no one he knows. That doesn't really matter though since arena soccer doesn't have practices and you just show up and play. The games are also shorter than baseball, so less time sitting around chatting with the other parents. So we're not that concerned that DS2 doesn't know anyone on his arena soccer team.
Oh and additional frustration, that THANK GOODNESS does not effect us... girls who were previously on the higher team based on skill level are being moved down to the lower team based on age. I'm hopeful that means that they will improve the skill level of DD's team, but if I were one of those girls, it'd be something I'd potentially quit over. So hopefully they don't lose girls.
I'm kind of bummed. The only intown meet DD has this year is in early March. We got her session time and it is noon on Friday a school day. So many of her school friends wanted to come watch and now they won't be able to unless their parents pull them from school. This meet is huge and runs 3 full days with multiple gyms going at once and it is just the luck of the draw, but I'm bummed that the only meet she could have a cheering crowd won't happen.
DS1 had an amazing game last night. The coach had him start unexpectedly so we were all shocked and excited. I was in stands and was like "OMG...DS is starting. He didn't tell me." and quickly pulled my phone out to record. He didn't know either until he got there. lol He's normally 6th or 7th man and he does play a lot but the only other time he started was due to missing starters at a game for various injuries and illnesses. They had a full roster last night. He did take the place of one of the Captains but the Coach told that kid he is still the Captain and will still get alot of minutes but that he wanted my son to start this game.
He played great. The team was struggling with 3s last night as a whole. They only got 4 of them the whole game. DS had 3 of the 4. woohoo. One was so far in the corner that we don't know how he even hit it. The coach was even shocked. He also had this incredible reverse layup that he dodged a block from a 6'6 defender (their best player). It sent the gym wild. The team was going berserk, the coach called a time out immediately and DS was just surrounded by his teammates. It was honestly his best game. He had steals, rebounds and played great D. In the end they won by 16. It was such an important game for the conference for seeding because this team is in our division and they beat us the first time around by 6.
They got a new head coach this year and let me tell you, he made a world of difference with these boys. They went from only winning 2 games the entire season last year to now being 7-5 with 8 games remaining in the regular season. We are hoping to get seeded in the middle so we are not playing a 1 or 2 seed in the first round of the conference playoffs.
DS2 team is not so lucky. They have lost every game. But he enjoys being on the team.
Oldest DS has two late evening practices for off season baseball per week. His school baseball team has off season weight lifting and practice 4 days a week after school. He probably attend 2-3 per week of those.
DD is in a very relaxed indoor field hockey league-games only.
Little DS is in karate twice a week and ski school for 2 weekends in a row.
I do all of it myself except get help w a ride home from baseball once a week by either my parents, sister, or teammate. It’s actually worked out ok. I can workout at the gym during karate and the after school stuff is before little DS gets picked up.
The only way I can navigate life is the fact that I switched from elem to high school time and I’m thankful every single day for that!
DD2's club soccer coach just emailed... While they haven't published the schedule yet, it appears that DD2's timeslot for games is... wait for it... 7pm EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT for the months of Feb and March. WTAF - goodbye to any social life we may have had...
mae0111, I feel your pain. We got DD's synch schedule and we have WEEKS of 6am practice on Saturday mornings. Which means getting up at 4:30am. I'm sure normal people can figure out a way to make it work and get up at 5:15, but we learned the hard way - we can't rush DD in the morning and eat in the car. It's a recipe for disaster.
k3am, that's terrible... we did have several seasons of 730am arrivals for 8am games at a field that was 45mins away, so that stunk, but DD2 got into a rhythm and would eat in the car. So it usually meant a 6am wakeup for me and DH and a 615 wakeup for her with all gear packed or laid out the night before, snacks packed (because all games were double headers one season) etc. She is a snail on weekday mornings, but she quickly realized that if she moved quickly on game days, she could get an extra 15 mins of sleep in.
DH and I always tried to keep Saturday evenings for a date night. We are far too old to be going out for a date night at 830pm after a soccer game. Maybe we can switch off with some other families so that they can have their date nights as well...
We had so much fun this weekend at DD’s field hockey tournament and she learned and improved so much over the games they played. Unfortunately she got hit HARD by a ball during the last game, right on the hip bone. It’s going to be a gigantic bruise. She played scared the rest of that game (but she did play again) so I’m hoping she still wants to play.
mae0111 , I feel your pain. We got DD's synch schedule and we have WEEKS of 6am practice on Saturday mornings. Which means getting up at 4:30am. I'm sure normal people can figure out a way to make it work and get up at 5:15, but we learned the hard way - we can't rush DD in the morning and eat in the car. It's a recipe for disaster.
WTF? No. What sport is this? (I assume it's hockey?)
"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.”
We had so much fun this weekend at DD’s field hockey tournament and she learned and improved so much over the games they played. Unfortunately she got hit HARD by a ball during the last game, right on the hip bone. It’s going to be a gigantic bruise. She played scared the rest of that game (but she did play again) so I’m hoping she still wants to play.
Ooh. Cement ball to the body is brutal. When I played in high school and college, not only did we not wear masks or goggles or anything, on corners, the job of the fly was to run as fast as they could directly at the person shooting said cement ball at their face. I broke my nose 5 times in 2 years that way.
"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.”
mae0111 , I feel your pain. We got DD's synch schedule and we have WEEKS of 6am practice on Saturday mornings. Which means getting up at 4:30am. I'm sure normal people can figure out a way to make it work and get up at 5:15, but we learned the hard way - we can't rush DD in the morning and eat in the car. It's a recipe for disaster.
WTF? No. What sport is this? (I assume it's hockey?)
Synchronized skating. I think the coaches hate us? Our regular practice is 4pm, but when we ramp up for competition or performances, we end up with random times. My guess is they know it’s one of the few times that couldn’t possibly conflict with other activities?
Benefit? It doesn’t eat up time during the weekend. (I’m not a glass is half full person, but I’m trying!)
DD1 and her team won their 25th consecutive conference title earlier this month. DD was 4th and 2nd in her 200 and 500 free, respectively. Her 2Free and 4Free relays took the conference titles. As the anchor leg of the 2Free relay she split a 23.96 - a bananas fast time, and 1.1 seconds off her best time. As the lead off to the 4Free she dropped another 1.3 in her 100. The time would have given her very first Speedo Sectional cut, but the meet wasn't sanctioned. So we will hope and pray she replicates it at the HS sectional meet this weekend.
The way the meet is seeded, they should win the sectional title. She is poised to get the state cut (possibly the title) in the 50 free, maybe the cut in the 500 free, and the Medley relay and 4Free relays should take the title - so fingers crossed 2 individual and 2 relay swims at state the following weekend. The 4Free relay is also poised to break the school and sectional record which would be unreal. It's a team of 1 senior, 2 sophomores, and a freshman, so to get a record this early would be unreal!
DD2 will begin MS track and club diving in April. But until then she just gets lots of downtime. She did join her schools trivia club that meets once a week.
DD3 doesn't get to compete in the last two swim meets because we will be at Sectionals and State for DD1. She doesn't have any championship cuts, so her season will end in 2 weeks. She'll get a break until mid April.
DD1 and her team won their 25th consecutive conference title earlier this month. DD was 4th and 2nd in her 200 and 500 free, respectively. Her 2Free and 4Free relays took the conference titles. As the anchor leg of the 2Free relay she split a 23.96 - a bananas fast time, and 1.1 seconds off her best time. As the lead off to the 4Free she dropped another 1.3 in her 100. The time would have given her very first Speedo Sectional cut, but the meet wasn't sanctioned. So we will hope and pray she replicates it at the HS sectional meet this weekend.
The way the meet is seeded, they should win the sectional title. She is poised to get the state cut (possibly the title) in the 50 free, maybe the cut in the 500 free, and the Medley relay and 4Free relays should take the title - so fingers crossed 2 individual and 2 relay swims at state the following weekend. The 4Free relay is also poised to break the school and sectional record which would be unreal. It's a team of 1 senior, 2 sophomores, and a freshman, so to get a record this early would be unreal!
DD2 will begin MS track and club diving in April. But until then she just gets lots of downtime. She did join her schools trivia club that meets once a week.
DD3 doesn't get to compete in the last two meets because we will be at Sectionals and State for DD1. She doesn't have any championship cuts, so her season will end in 2 weeks. She'll get a break until mid April.
"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.”
Speedo Sectional in her 50 free tonight at prelims!! Fingers cross for the Futures cut in finals on Saturday. 0.41 seconds it's so little but SO much at the same time!
ETA: this also means she gets to spend her 16th birthday at Speedo Sectionals! Not a bad way to celebrate!