Spring 2012 Sports

Spring sports are some of my favorite, and with the weather so pleasant this spring, the kids enjoyed their sports activities all the more.  Gymnastics, swimming, softball and golf were their sports activities this spring.  I'll discuss the first three in this post and save golf camp for another post.

The children's sport that best conditions the body in all ten domains of fitness, in my opinion, is gymnastics.  Both of our kids really enjoy gymnastics, but they are interested in so many other sports that they have not chosen gymnastics as their passion sport.  Yet, I think it's important to at least provide the kids with a few gymnastics classes each year for basic conditioning.  This spring was our son's turn.  As in previous years, he was in a class with all girls, but he did not seem to mind.  He had a habit of calling out to me and waving during class to make sure I was watching him.  While I was glad he craved my attention, I had to remind him not to interrupt the class.

It has become a tradition for the kids to take a few private swim lessons each spring to refresh their memories and to reactivate their swimming muscles.  They took a few lessons this spring and can't wait to do lots of swimming with their cousins in Oklahoma who have always had a pool in their backyard and swim like pros.  I keep hoping to get them on a swim team some day where they can become stronger swimmers, but their busy travel and camp schedules always get in the way.

Our kids got to play church league softball for the first time this spring.  This league is so laid back that they don't even keep score at games.  The team volunteers are more focused on teaching the kids to hit, run, pray, make friends, and have fun than on who wins or loses.  I was thrilled to get both of our children assigned to the same team, the Curveball Crusaders.  Next year they will play in different age groups, so we'll have twice as many practices and games to attend.

Clockwise from top:  Post-game pizza party, Making sure Mom & Dad are watching,  Pre-game prayer

Top left:  Pre-game warm-up;  Bottom right:  Softball teaches patience.

 

Interesting tidbits from the last softball game:

• Our daughter may not look very intimidating, but her line drive almost knocked off a kid's head.
• While I was surprised to see an attractive, pregnant mother in stiletto heels and skin tight pants at this rural ballgame, I was not surprised to see her depart in a BMW convertible.
• The players were more concerned about seeing who could get the muddiest than in winning the game.