As we are sitting in the middle of a rain delay with my
Royals all tied up with the Blue Jays in Game Five of the Championship Series,
my mind has a tendency to stray towards sports.
I played Volleyball in High School, I wasn’t great but if I hadn’t hurt
my knee in the summer before my senior year, I might have played more and even
started a few times. But that was not to
be for me, I limped along playing as hard as I could and played when I could,
but through it all, I was part of a team of mostly really nice girls. One girl as a Senior was so kind to us
Sophomores, when I went to name my daughter, I thought of anyone that gave me negative
thoughts with that name and any that gave me positive…she was a positive so I
felt good about giving my kiddo the same name.
Silly yes, but still true nonetheless.
Anyway, last year Madison played for the school Volleyball
team. Oh my gosh, the stress waiting to
hear if she made it or not. I thought I
was going to buckle under the strain and she was a hundred times worse! But she had a great coach, one of those
coaches that looks for coachability, enthusiasm, willingness to work hard and
willingness to be part of a team. Madison
is all those things. She is the player
that takes a suggestion or a correction and employs it. She’s not the repeat offender because she listens. At sports, with coaches, she listens…at home,
yeah…not so much!
This year, no volleyball.
It’s frustrating up here. The
public schools have no Volleyball, the Private schools all have
Volleyball. You have to pay for it up
here. In San Diego, we worried because
she didn’t play Club Ball and all the other girls did, but she still made the
team. Her team went on to win the 7th
grade Championship and she cried she was so excited. I was a little weepy too, seeing her that
excited, that feels amazing! Up here
there is only Club until Freshman year, or Private school, which is way out of
our reach. We try to let the girls play
in some clinics at the Club, but as for playing Club…$5000 for a season for the
girls to play on a team for Club is just impossible. But of course, those are the coaches that are
telling the girls, “If these were tryouts for the team I’d be looking at you
because you’re doing what I ask.” And my favorite, “I’d put you on my team
right now, are you trying out?” Grrr…You
want to smack them and thank them at the same time.
So we have them in these Developing Clinics, helps them
develop as players in between School and Club Seasons. One of the coaches (also one of the owners) is the coach for the Freshman team, he told us
all of his team are Club players, that’s who he takes. I think it might have been a sales pitch,
whereas I asked about another High School…he said they have a lot of non-Club
players. I smiled and told Madison that
we might look there, looked at the coach and said, Sorry I got two players…I
can’t afford one to play let alone two. Then
his wife hits me up with how the kids get through the season but the ones that
don’t play Club get left behind for the next year. I wanted to say thanks Good Humor Lady…want
to turn in your white coat now?
So I’m definitely frustrated with Volleyball! And now the girls are trying out for
Basketball. And here’s this whole other
basketful of dilemmas.
My girls are two years and four months apart. I knew that they would be in High School
together, and I knew that there was always this slight possibility that Sydney
could make a Varsity team as a sophomore and play on the same team as her
sister. In fact, I considered that as a
beautiful potential, not likely but man that would be cool! Yeah, sure…only…there’s this whole other
thing that I also knew about and didn’t want to consider. It leads down an ugly path, one I’d hoped to
avoid…only now we’re walking down that path.
Up here, Middle School is 6th, 7th,
and 8th grade. So Sydney and
Madison are both at the same school.
That’s very cool. They both want
to play basketball for their school.
That’s very cool! The school has
only one team – 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Huh…wha…..
Oh that’s so potentially bad!
Grrr! Now not only do I have this
stomach pain as I fret with them over whether they make the team…now I get this
whole new dimension of worry. What happens
if one kid makes the team and the other doesn’t? One would be jubilant and the other devastated. How do we get ourselves into this mess? Seriously?!
Oh, and it’s not like it’s a quick process either. No it has to be an ordeal. Sydney was supposed to have one day of try
outs, Tuesday. But then they had them
all come back on Wednesday, sure we can arrange our lives around your
disorganization. So Sydney goes back on
Wednesday and is now trying out on day two with Madison and the rest of the 7th
and 8th graders. On
Wednesday, they tell the kids that they will receive notes today if they are
invited to another tryout next week.
Three females in this house on pins and needles all day! The talk before school, “We are aware that
one could get called and the other not.
And that’s okay.” They assured me
they were good.
Good news is that they both got the note. They both are going to the second (for
Madison) and third (for Sydney) tryout! The
girls will fight for spots on the school team; in theory, they aren’t supposed
to be fighting each other, but who knows.
It wasn’t supposed to be coached by a parent, but it is. We’ll see how it goes. I tell them to go out and do the best they
can so they have no regrets, leave it all on the court and be proud of the
effort you put in. I sure hope it pays
off for both of them!
Sigh!!! After the nail
biter game we just survived to send my Royals to the World Series, we’re going
to have an easy weekend and start the sports merry-go-around again on Monday!
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