Shane's first week back home

 Shane was happy to go out with the animals his first morning home.

He was less thrilled when I put him to work!

There are less cousins and more chores as the homestead.

Virtual school was mostly the same. Shane had less supervision, but maybe that will make him appreciate the next time Nana lays down the law (He is a social one!). 

Shane's been half bummed and half pumped about the tablet Nana and Pop gave him. He really wants full access to the internet and Roblox on it. Carrie has stated "over my dead body," so he's had to settle for Angry Birds instead!

I was going to make 'mini-pizzas' on tortillas for dinner one night (a lazy man's pizza dough). We were out of sauce and ended up making pepperonni quesadillas instead.

Sounds crazy, but Shane's a fan! I made one for myself, too. 

It was a busy week with school, chores, and Shane coming home. I actually forgot about his soccer practice! I had it written down, but he two weeks off broke my routine.

We did make it to the game on Saturday. Shane and I donned our yellow and he ran out proud.

Shane played defender 1st half.

There was a lack of hustling all around the field, but the kids were happy to be there.

"Drone!" Shane yelled.

If he can spot a random drone in the sky, you'd think he could keep his eagle eye on the ball!

The 'Banana Slammas' scored a goal near the end and Shane yelled, "We're winning!"

The other team scored a few minutes later and Shane dropped to his knees. I suppose the loss cut him to the core.

Shane was in the goal second half. I thought he played decently.

He was scored on three times, but he made a play on all of the balls. 

The first time, a girl dribbled in and half his team surrounded her. No one pounced. She dithered and then kicked a high air ball. Shane said he tried to get his way through the pack.

The second time, it was a lone attacker charging the goal from half field. There was another yellow player running behind, but it was basically Shane on his own. He charged out of the goal and almost out of the box! The kid kicked a rocke. Shane jumped and got both hands on the ball, but it deflected up and backwards and bounced into the goal.  

The third time...well, I don't think it counted. A player charged the goal after a sloppy goal kick. Shane dived for the ball and I guess he got his hand stepped on? I didn't see anything foul, but the refs checked on Shane for a bit and then let him do another goal kick.

Shane had some blocks and a couple beautiful throws. Instead of posing and waiting for everyone to look at him, he set the tempo. He scooped the ball, ran, and threw it past the other team. He was playing further forward than he should have most of the game, but I was happy he was trying to be active. I make a big deal out of how proud I am when he tries to make a play on anything. He was bummed about the shot he jumped and missed, but I went on about it was the first time I'd seen him jump and land both hands on the shot.

We have one practice and one game left. I wish there were more.

The game was the big social event of the weekend. I was hoping to get Shane a playdate, but the three main friends I tried were all unavailable (Henry, Dylan, and Hazel). 

We did get a visit from Landie Saturday. Ellie rode Magic and I ended up babysitting for a couple of hours.

I took the tablet away at first when Shane and Landie raided snacks without permission. They played on the treadmill and did hide and seek. 

I gave the tablet back at the end. Landie was interested for a little bit, but then she really wanted to watch My Little Ponies (and guess who got sucked out of tablet land by the flashing lights?)

Our house is far cry from partyland in SC, but it's home. Shane and Carrie watched a lot of Teen Titans together (the original series!). I've been trading texts and I'm hoping to have more social opportunities next weekend when it's Halloween!

The New Soccer

Soccer in a pandemic? Sure.

Kids are the least likely to catch covid, soccer is outside, and Scottsville is sparsely populated. There's a total of 8 kids on Shane's team and only two teams in his age bracket.

I had to send an email with Shane's temperature before practice. Kids bring their own ball and can't touch anything with their hands during practice. The coach has to wear a mask and parents are supposed to stay distanced.

That left me in the car with my book.

"You can still watch me from the car!" Shane said.

"Don't count on it," I replied. "You go out there, do your best, and have fun whether I can see or not."

Not that I read all that much. I did watch some, but it's not like I could hear much of what was going on!

The commute was amazing, though. It was right near Shane's school!

Shane started to wilt partway through. He came up the hill saying he was hot and "wanted to throw up or pass out."

"You can't say that in a pandemic, kid," I said. "If you're super dramatic they won't let you come back. It's just the heat. Sit, rest, have a drink, and then get back out there. We'll head home in 15 minutes."

"I don't know if want to do soccer anymore. I don't like the heat."

That tune changed Saturday morning.

The weather is great at 8 AM!

Shane was really excited to be on a team.

He recognized some of the kids on the other team from school.

Shane played defense for most of the first half. The coach tried to put him on offense at one point, but he made it clear where he wanted to be!

The skill level was much lower than the big league, but the convenience and small population pool made SOKS the perfect league for us.

Shane must have told the coach he really wanted to be goalie at half-time. The team was losing 4-2.

Shane got his chance! The team lost 5-4 at the last minute, but that's fine with me. The two teams will be playing each other all season, so close games are a good thing!

I now have a reason to do some drills with Shane during the week. I could have forced them before, but now that he chose to do soccer.....

I'm looking forward to a healthy and fun season. 

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Hero Camp

I decided to start a "Hero camp" with Shane. Lacrosse has fallen by the wayside. 

Carrie gave some riding lessons over the weekend, and I dug the bows and arrows out of storage Monday.

I decided to hold lessons in the arena after we nearly lost an arrow in the grass!

Shane's excited, but he's not strong enough for the bows we have. If I was really worried about technique, I'd need to do some research. This is more of an excuse to get outside and have some fun, so I guess he's got to get stronger!

I felt a slight soreness in my own muscles after shooting for a bit.

What Shane lacked in strength, aim, and technique he made up for with creativity and enthusiasm.

Shane wanted to see how far he could launch an arrow, so he stood on top of what was left of the wood pile (still need to move the last ones...).

Turns out our little bows can shoot pretty far. I did a mostly full draw, angled up, and launched an arrow over the arena and halfway to the trees in our  neighbor's yard! I've been preaching "respect the tool" and "be safety minded," and I hope the lessons are taking!

Loki's not a fan of our lessons, because he has to stay inside just in case.

Shane wore riding gloves the first day so that the string "wouldn't hurt his fingers." I had him put on long sleeves each time to protect him from a string raspberry if he has bad form (and he does).

Shane can be pretty vocal about his frustration. I wish he would be 100% growth minded, but I partially don't mind that he tries to get creative when things don't go his way. If anything, I see a bit of me in it.

Still, when you're frustrated with being unable to land one do you think it's a good idea to try and launch three?

I suppose if you had the strength to launch the arrows far enough a "shotgun spread" could help. Shane doesn't have the strength or the aim, though, so it was a short-distanced fail!

We went out Monday and Tuesday. I wanted to wait until school work was done, deck construction was on hold, and no horses were being ridden each day. Shane and I were out of sync on Wednesday and Thursday was nothing but rain.

Part of me envisioned doing sword fighting, exercise, and other things, but my energy level wasn't there. Maybe I'll add those things in as time goes by.

This week in Lacrosse

We had practice twice this week on Monday and Wednesday. Practices were at WAHS instead of near UVA. I wasn't thrilled about the extra 10 minutes each way, but in for a penny in for a pound.

The website had said there would be one practice a week at each of the local high schools. I teach at one, so I assumed that's where we'd go. When practice was at UVA last week, I didn't know if that was the new normal, but it was a nice field and decent location.

It was also a clue that the website wasn't up to date. The next two weeks look to be at WAHS.

There was a call for any volunteers who'd be able to run a practice closer in to Cville. If I knew anything about lax I may have offered, but I know squat. I try to watch and listen to what's going on at least half the time I'm at Shane's practices.

I recognize several of the coaches from Cavalier Wrestling Club. I don't really know them, but it's funny to see a wrestling connection at a different sport!

Shane's still behind the curve, but he's already improved. There was one drill where the kids were supposed to run out, scoop up, and return balls in less time than the other group (losers did 5 push-ups).

Shane was trotting instead of running the first round (to several teammate's dismay). The second round he jogged and looked like he was using his brain to game the system. The kids were only allowed to drop one ball in at a time, but Shane scooped up two balls. He dropped one ball as he got closer to the bucket, plunked in the allowed ball, and then jogged back to the ball he dropped.

It would have been brilliant if he didn't sometimes have trouble scooping up or maintaining both balls.

The coach either didn't notice or didn't say anything. I was happy to see signs of thinking (and complimented Shane on using his brain later.....with the caveat of "if the coach wants you to get better at running and scooping you  may not be able to do that in the future).

Shane's working on learning how to fit in. He's gotten in 'trouble' a couple of times for sitting down or lollygagging while everyone else moved to a quicker tempo. There's one little guy (I think his name is Shep) who seems to gleefully whack at anyone who comes near him and Shane's a favorite target since he fusses.

Shane's still having fun and it's neat to see a different sport. The coach told all the kids to work on passing and catching, because "if you can't do those, it's field hockey and not lacrosse." That's going to be what I focus on doing with Shane. I don't really know technique, but a game of catch is easy enough and fun to boot.

Lacrosse Spring 2020

So we're trying lacrosse this year! 

I originally wanted to sign up for a Scottsville soccer club, but it turned out to be fall only. I knew a guy from wrestling who coached lacrosse and I've always been a little curious, so I texted to ask what options there were for a 3rd grader.

We missed the first week, but we're jumping in feet first. I bought Shane a bunch of used gear on Saturday and had him try it on.

He thinks it looks really cool!

The shoulder pads were too tight and Shane cried about getting them off. "They hurt my ears!" The gloves were on the small side and the compression shorts........when they said they'd fit an 18-22 inch waist I counted on something much, larger. 

I had to do another run to Play it Again Sports after work Monday. The total tally of gear was around $65 for shoulder pads, cup, gloves, elbow pads, mouth guard, and a pair of lacrosse balls to practice with. I got the helmet and stick from Tony and I'm hoping Shane's old soccer cleats still fit. The season was $175 and I had to buy a $30 membership to US Lacrosse, so this is the most expensive sport Shane has done to date (it took me two hours of driving, shopping and research to get everything and sign up, too!).

Our first practice was Monday night, 6:30 PM at the Park at UVA. It was all new to both of us!

Mental note: Long sleeves are warmer and make the elbow pads fit better. Also, fix the helmet so that it sits straight.

I was a little nervous, but Shane didn't seem to be in the least. I told him to run up and introduce himself to the coach.

He told the coach that he got plenty of lacrosse practice by scooping horse poop!

There were three coaches for the 3rd and 4th graders. They lined them up and I heard "If you're standing still, you're doing lacrosse wrong!"

Shane looked like the only kid who didn't have any prior experience.

There was a fair sized group of kids. The coaches split the kids into three groups for three different drill stations.

The first station did an 'Oklahoma drill' where two kids laid down and then rushed to get the ball and return it before the other.

The second station involved shooting on goal. The last involved running and short passes.

"Everyone was really serious," Shane said when practice ended.

He wasn't wrong either. It was a fairly focused set of young boys.....not that they were all angels. If anything, a few of them looked hyper competitive. One of them came up and bumped Shane after a drill. It looked like Shane was able to handle himself and turn it into some kind of game, though!

I watched everything really carefully to see what the coaches were trying to work on. I knew nothing going in, but I felt I caught onto enough I could help Shane practice a little at home.

So we did! Tuesday was beautiful, so Shane and I played a little pass and he scooped up some grounders.

He had to find some poop free patches to lie down in for the other drill. 

I warned Shane that he was going to have a lot of catching up to do. I didn't want him to get discouraged that he was "the worst one."

"Just by showing up, you're already better than everyone who stayed at home," I said. I wanted him to focus on giving an effort and having fun. If he had fun with the process, results would show up naturally (or not and that'd be okay, too!).

Wednesday was the second practice. The coaches had the kids line up across from each other and play catch to start. One coach tried to help Shane out with his technique.

He's got a long way to go, but he already looks a little better!

I've learned a lot more about strategies like boxing out, kicking the ball, checking, why players spin, and how rough you're allowed to be. Shane hasn't absorbed all of that yet. He gets distracted and gets frustrated when he doesn't do as well as he imagines he should.

He got really frustrated during the final whole group drill. There were four groups of boys. It was supposed to be a 2 v 2. The ball was thrown and whichever side recovered it first became the offense. Their job was to have one clean pass and then try to score while the defense tried to shut them down.

Shane didn't even run out the first time. He threw a small fit at the end, but managed to get back in line for the next round.

Afterward, Shane was mad and told me people kept talking to him and expected him to listen to them, but somehow also know when to run out. "That's impossible!" he said. 

Shane was slow to run out the second time, but he managed to get out there. He wasn't really sure what to do yet. The other kids were yelling things like "Check him!"

The coach yelled something and there was a big dog pile in the goal when practice ended. I was surprised Shane didn't dive in. He went over to where the coach was instead. I think he's still trying to figure out exactly where he fits in.

That said, Shane likes lacrosse so far. I always try to point out positive things. I won't shy away from topics like, "Don't hit the stick we borrowed on the ground," but I want there to be an emphasis on fun and growth. 

I expect the first game will be interesting whenever that is. 

However it goes, we're in for the season. I'm looking forward to learning more myself. I may need to get a stick for myself to practice with Shane.