Several years ago, we signed both Tera and Kiah up for a YMCA-type soccer league. That season of soccer just about killed me, and after it came to an end, Theo and I decided to take a step way back from children’s sports. After much thought, we came to the conclusion that while there were some beneficial parts, it really wasn’t the type of thing that was adding a lot of value to our lives and was adding a lot of stress to our lives.
We decided that if any of our kids are going to be athletes as a career or even as a side hobby/scholarship opportunity, that they would most likely be just fine starting that sport in upper elementary or even junior high. There was not much skill building in the league we had tried out, and it had ended up costing quite a bit of money and SO MUCH TIME. With Theo working the odd hours, all of the sports responsibilities fell on me, and with having an extra little one to wrangle on the sidelines, we just decided to wait a bit longer.
We also made a choice to keep sports at our school. I felt like I didn’t have the capacity to add a different area to our lives. So we decided that (for now), there would be no YMCA sports, no leagues outside of our school. If the school is offering a sport or club, we will be happy to consider it for the kids.
And this year, there was enough interest in a basketball team for the elementary students that a bunch of amazing parents and our athletic director whipped up a basketball program for K-4! There were some bumps along the way, but for the first year of an elementary sport at our school, I’d say it was a wonderful success!
K-2 ended up having a league at our school, split up into four teams. They would practice once a week and have game night once a week, with two games on game night. Kiah was on a team with his two best friends and their team did AMAZING. It was SO FUN to watch, not just Kiah’s team, but all of the other teams that were packed with my current and former students. I was on the edge of my seat every game and cheering my heart out. It was electric and it was so fun! They brought the junior cheerleaders in to cheer for the teams, and so many parents and siblings were also there every night!
It was also really fun to watch Kiah fall in love with basketball. He is a very naturally athletic kid, and during practice he started to grow his confidence. The first quarter of the first game he was trying to get his bearing, but by second quarter his smile was so big and he was SO happy. He scored quite a few points for his team, and his team ended the season with only one loss and one tie. I think it was so great that it was a natural and comfortable environment, and that all of the kids knew each other and were able to learn good sportsmanship playing with their friends, but also against their friends. We really LOVED Kiah’s first season of basketball.
Tera surprised us all by also signing up for basketball! Last year she did cheerleading, and since the cheerleaders cheer FOR basketball, she couldn’t do both. I sat her down and told her to make sure that she wanted to do basketball, even if her friends were all doing cheer. Yes, she was SURE. And that girl knows herself and has confidence in herself and not once did she waver in her decision, even though it was a tough season for her and her team.
They only had 7 players, so as long as everyone showed up for practice and games, they had two subs. We played some teams that had 15+ players and would sub out all 5 players at once. The 3-4th grade teams from our school ended up joining a league and this league was TOUGH. Most teams practiced daily after school and were coached very seriously. We had the most amazing coach for our girls, but only one weekly practice and our girls just weren’t quite ready to tackle basketball THAT seriously. Most of them had never played basketball ever, so it felt like we were completely “out of our league”, and not in a good way. The first game they played was 50-2 (and the two was from the other team putting it in the wrong basket). It was brutal. The girls never won a game, but they did improve dramatically as the season went on! They went from not knowing what a lay-up was, to being able to grab a couple of lay-ups and get the ball into the basket for us! It was much harder to watch Tera’s games, as all the parents just wanted our girls to get a win. They worked SO HARD and improved SO MUCH.
At the end of the season, I had shirts made for the team that said “Indomitable Spirit”. “Indomitable” means cannot be subdued or overcome, and even though they lost all of their games, these girls brought the good attitude the WHOLE season. We are so, so proud of them.
Meanwhile, Ezra and Ori and I did spend a lot of time on the sidelines. Theo made it to as many games as he could, and overall I think that our family loved and enjoyed our first real sports season! It was challenging having one kid on a winning team, and one kid on a losing team, but both kids working to the best of their abilities. There were a lot of emotions surrounding all of it and we had to learn to navigate the high highs and the low lows and learning how to be a good supporter from the sidelines and at home. It was the first sports season, but I am SURE there will be many, many more of those to come!
