Spring is starting to feel like spring! Just in time for team picture day, too.
I feel bad for the photographer. He came out to our practice just to take a picture of four kids.
A fifth ran up later, but the odds of him selling any photos are slim.
Raheem and a couple of other kids walked up to play basketball when we got home. I sat on the porch and Shane half joined in.
I say half, because Shane wasn't playing basketball. First, he wanted to get the ball, spin around, and throw it. Then, he wanted to be a zombie who would tackle other players. Then...I don't even remember what else was going on. I called him aside. I told him that he should jump in the basketball game, but asked him not to run side games that interfered with their game. We had a short talk about "why," and the game went on.
Shane enjoyed it for a while, but then left to climb a tree (a great, spring activity!). He started to call from the tree top with things like "Look at me!" "See how high I am!" and "I'm a great climber!"
I can't remember if I called out or not. I know I thought, "They're in the middle of a basketball game! You don't need to call out, and I doubt they'll join you. Just focus on having fun and the rest will work out!"
Well, I was partly wrong. The kids did stop their basketball game and switch to climbing!
Shane chortled, shook the tree, and made sure he was the highest up. I'm surprised the tree held them all!
It was a moment I was happy to see....though I did think, "It's no wonder he likes to call out, 'look at me!' All the kids do!"
Eventually, it was time for dinner and a shower. Shane went to bed properly tired from playing as all kids should.
There was another exciting game today! Shane's mind was in the game when it was his turn.
Not so much when it wasn't.
Shane hasn't scored at all, but he's actually trying to shoot and taking some chances. He's looking like he understands the game a lot more than before. I only shot once my whole first season (It was the game winning shot, so I remember it!).
Shane probably had as much fun (if not more) after the game.
I watched him climb around on the playground for a while.
There's no fear of heights.
I think Shane likes to get up high partly because it gets other kids and parents to look at him.
Shane joined a tag game with some random other kids when I finally told him it was time to go. He was the only basketball player left at that point.
I don't know if we're going to do all the same sports once we move. Some of them will be a bit of a drive from our new house. Or maybe we'll take a year off and see if the absence fans the flame stronger. Don't know! I've enjoyed having activities to take Shane to. I hope he remembers the activities fondly like I remember when Pop did them with me.
Shane has his last basketball practice today. There's one special needs kid on the team that Shane really likes to play with. He tries to tickle, make noises, and poke him. The kid pokes back and they seem to have a grand old time.
Most of the other kids pay attention to the actual basketball.
Honestly, most of the team are squirrels. I happen to focus on my squirrel out of the bunch. He's more likely to try and climb the bleachers on the sideline, yell "Look at me! Over here!," and climb on things than to push in line and try to cut ahead and get a ball.
The practice was well-timed, because our carpets were steam cleaned this morning. Carrie didn't want anyone stepping on anything until as late as possible. I'd cleared the floors last night and Carrie combed everything to un-mat the carpet.
And it turned out great!
One more thing done. This was way cheaper than trying to replace the carpet to make the house look nice.
Today was the most fun basketball game I've watched in years. The score going into the final 6 minutes was 22-22 and Shane was up.
It was so exciting I forgot to take pictures. That's saying something when it comes to 2nd grade basketball!
The final score was 24-24. Shane is showing a much greater understanding of the game. He hasn't scored, but he took 5 shots. One even hit the backboard and another the net! Before, he would stand still and have the ball ripped away, double-dribble, or run away without dribbling at all.
Defensively, Shane is being more aggressive. He's stolen the ball (albeit mostly on accident). He doesn't look up for rebounds and doesn't watch usually watch the ball (instead he faces the guy he's covering the whole time). However, this game Shane seemed to understand he could throw picks and use his body to get in the way of whoever had the ball. He'd sometimes run up and immediately turn backwards in their way. Why? Because he was thinking. Upward requires you to guard someone with the same wristband as you. Shane figured by turning backwards and 'butting in' he wouldn't be called on it.
I made sure to praise Shane for his effort and using his head after the game! I like how Upward uses the wrist bands, but sometimes there's one player on the other team who's nearly unstoppable with a one-on-one. If Shane had tried to steal the ball, they would have called him on it and that's okay. The fact that he recognized who on the other team was talented (or at least had the ball) and took measures within the rules to hinder him? Fantastic.
I got one picture at the end of the kids snacking.
With my car back, it was time for Shane and I's usual Saturday routine. He started off the day with Taekwando.
I sat in the car for most of practice. It was crowded!
There was a brief window in between activities where we popped home for a change and some impromptu basketball.
Carrie posted our VW Bug for sale online. A mechanic who was aware of it's current condition came by and bought it while his kids played with Shane and Raheem. They didn't stay long, but it was a fun side event.
Unfortunately for Raheem, we didn't stay long either. Shane got changed, had a snack, and we were off to basketball.
Shane hammed it up and really enjoyed a dominating win.
Some of my texts to Carrie:
"They're winning 14-2 so Shane is pumped. He cheers every score. It's his turn to go in again and I could hear across the court, "Boo yah, Baby!" "20-8 at halftime. He's tried a few steals. Was celebrating too much and his man almost ran down unopposed to score but he heard me yell."
The final score was 36-14. The coach's son, Ethan(?), did most of the work. Shane tried a few steals, took a shot from under the backboard, and actually got a rebound. He contributed! How's that for low standards?
Shane tried to make friends with the scoreboard guy when he was on the bench. I bet he was asking to push buttons, too, but I couldn't hear from across the court!
The kids had fun and I was happy with Shane's effort.
We got home to eat and get ready for Sam's birthday party at 3! Rah had a nephew coming to visit at 3, so I felt less bad as we drove off again (He at least had something going on...).
I recognized a couple of the kids at Sam's party. I could have left him, but I ended up staying and talking with the adults. The other guy who stayed was a computer science professor at UVA. I found the academia discussions and politics interesting. It's a very different world from what I deal with.
There was an awkward moment where a kid showed up who wasn't invited to the party. He'd been visiting his grandparents and wanted to join. Shane immediately started to chat him up. The other kids wanted to play soccer and Shane was happy to find someone who wanted to grab a shovel and dig holes in the yard. Sam has history with the kid and "hasn't taken to him." The kid was allowed to join the party until the kid drama/angst levels were too high and he was sent home.
To my surprise, Shane did not cause the most noise of the kids. In fact, he disappeared at one point. Sam had a new Dogman comic book and Shane sat in his room to read it while the other kids had a light saber duel in the basement. I was amused.
There was cake and a Pokemon themed "Pin-the-Pokeball" activity. Several of the kids had unerring accuracy for being blindfolded and spun. The blindfold may not have worked as intended, but they had fun.
Everyone went outside again after. Shane wanted more cake and to go outside. I told him not to take their silverware into the yard, so he scarfed the cake down on the porch before vaulting down the stairs.
I would have happily stayed at the party longer, but after two hours of mayhem I figured Sam's parents would be happy for some quiet. Shane and I left as soon as other parents started arriving to ease the energy level.
Three planned activities and a little spontaneous play in between. We had a good day!
I've got a lovely chauffeur for the week. AAA came out and upgraded the car from 'dead battery' to 'electrical issues.' They towed the Volvo over to the shop who said they'd look at it 'as soon as they can.'
Without a car, I'm out of wrestling practice for the week. I'm half sad and half glad. I've been ready for a break!
Carrie picked me up from work and we hit up Costco. Then we grabbed Shane and took him to basketball.
There were only four kids in the gym, at first. Shane does much better in small groups, because he gets a lot of attention!
"We've got to get rid of those pants," Carrie said. They were more than a little high-water.
Shane's Pokemon friend, Samuel, said hi after practice. He's a year older and his team practices on the other half of the court! Samuel was excited about the new tag-team Pokemon, but we haven't collected any new cards recently. I told them we might make it to Pokemon night next week. It's the same night as wrestling, but Shane (and I) may need a break.
Shane's back is turned and he's frequently not paying attention to instruction in both settings.
I solved a slide puzzle Shane was mad at while he practiced.
I'm still not sure if I should watch Shane the whole time or feign like I'm not. It feels like he makes eye contact with me all the time when he's out there (Especially if a coach corrects him). Really, I want him to focus on practice, not me.....but is the attention encouraging?
I had to laugh Tuesday. I heard Shane announce, "Don't ever ever tell you're parents you're bored! They'll give you chores to do!"
Another boy announced, "Yeah! My mom makes me do laundry," and I laughed even harder (I agree, ma'am!).
There was some free time for kids to play afterwards before the next practice started. Shane did his own thing for a little. Eventually, I joined him and tried to let him practice stealing the ball from me (He prefers defense in sports. I think Shane feels offense is loaded with too much pressure.).
Thursday, we missed practice, because Carrie wanted us to get strep tested. She had gone back to the doctor herself. The antibiotics weren't working and she had the worst looking case of strep I've seen. The doctor called it, "high aggressive and contagious," as he prescribed penicillin.
That meant Shane and I got swabbed to allay her fears and make sure we weren't the next to be infected.
Shane did a better job with being swabbed. He wasn't (much of) a chicken for the strep test. He was unhappy with the flu test and kept saying, "He was too nervous and needed time to calm down" before the nurse could test him, but that didn't stop us. It was better than the meltdown last time, and he recovered immediately, at least.
Saturday, we would have gone to TKD, but Shane had a morning game. It was my week to bring snacks.
Shane doesn't really get the finer points of sports tactics or strategy, but at least he gets out there.
My snacks were a hit: Sunny D and fig bars!
I would have liked to have gone to Orange to watch the high school's district match, but the timing was off. It sounds like the team had too many bagels for breakfast and looked like they were asleep on the mat, so maybe that was a good thing.
I gave Shane a choice: Wrestling with me or TKD with Mom.
He chose wrestling.
It was more of a "What's going on right now?" and "Will there be kids there?" pick than "I really want to watch wrestling!"
We left the house a little after 9 AM and, yes, there were kids there! Ryan and Sarah were around to watch their brother wrestle.
Covenant is an easy drive. I like all the people and I like wrestling, so I was happy to go! I haven't made it out to many (if any) high school meets this year and that needed to be rectified.
The other coaches really enjoy college wrestling, but my joy in wrestling if from watching kids I know grow. Three years ago, the high school team's record was 1 win - 25 losses. Then it was 5-25 and this year they're something like 11-13. Most of the kids are young, so hopefully next year they will stick around and improve further.
Shane's Pokemon cards kept the kids busy and allowed me to watch, talk, and coach.
Being a coach has it's perks. Chris and I took our kids up to the hospitality room for snacks in between rounds. We went up for lunch later and I knew (or at least recognized) half the people in the room.
The kids didn't stay contained the whole time. Shane and Ryan were climbing magnolia trees outside at one point and then tackling wrestlers at others. Shane was lying on the ground and grabbing at ankles of kids from other teams until I spotted him attached to a confused kid I didn't know!
I liked it better when he stuck to tackling kids I did know.
Wrestlers are pretty good about taking a beating without complaint. Shane vaulted onto Nima from a couple steps up at one point.
He dropped down on Pyi....
....and Drew, too. The kid revels in seizing attention...literally.
Ryan got into some of the same shenanigans. Sarah was calmer, but she tried to tackle some kids, too.
We stayed through most of the finals. Then I had to sprint Shane away at 2 PM. We drove home, grabbed his basketball jersey, and raced off to his basketball game.
We barely made it on time. I wouldn't have minded if we'd missed picture day since I wasn't going to buy any.
They had been packing up when we arrived and stopped to take Shane's pics. I guess it gives him the full experience, but I felt bad.
Shane's favorite part of the game may be when names are announced. He was dancing all over.
Joaquin was on the other team. He'd been on Shane's team last year and they two of them were paired up!
It was a high-energy, dance-handshake.
Shane's all about moving around, but the focus isn't so much on the game.
Dancing Shane:
The coach's younger kid has an electronic device and it-calls-to-me Shane:
I provided snacks this week. Sunny D's and fig bars. Mission accomplished.
But wait, there's more. We signed Shane up for Ninja Night at TKD! I dropped him off after the basketball game.
I picked him up a little before 9 PM. He stayed out of the house nearly all day!
And he wasn't ready to go home when I picked him up either!
The dojang posted this picture of all the kids online.
Shane would like it if every day was like this one. We can't always be that active, though.
Or, at least, I can't always be that active. It was a great day, but I was worn out!
