The bond between us.

How can one of my nieces cling to me as if I was her own mother? My nieces Lauren always wants her “Sammie” no matter where or who she is with she is always asking for me. I love both my nieces just the same but I guess there is just a greater bond between us. Bailey will come to me but can’t quite say my name yet. If you where to ask Bailey if she wanted to play with Sammie or her very ball she would say her ball. On the other hand Lauren is quite different even when she is with or not with me she always wants her “Sammie” to save her. I always hear stories from her other aunts, grandmas and even her own mother and father about how when she does something wrong or gets into something she knows she shouldn’t be getting into she said “ I want Sammie”. I never want to favor one of my nieces over the other but I think there is just a greater bond that Lauren and I have.

Here we go again…

Last Monday my sister asked if I could watch her daughter Bailey for a few hours on Wednesday, but I told her I couldn’t because I had to meet with my group to work on a group project. I asked her why she needs me to watch her, because it wasn’t like her to not tell why she need me to help her out. I asked is everything okay and she said yes. But I had something in the back of my mind that kind of gave me the idea that she might be pregnant again. Then on Wednesday right as I was getting ready to leave to meet up with my group to work on our project she stop by my house. At this time I knew something was up. She came down to my room and told me guess what? And I said “What”. Then she replied ” I’m pregnant again”, “I said I knew it”. At this time I was very excited to have another nieces or nephew in the family. I just wish that everything works out and the baby to come will be healthy.

Easter Holiday back in action!

Do you remember back when you where younger and you would go over to a family members house after church on Easter and have brunch then all the kids would have to stay inside while the eggs are hidden out side for the Easter egg hunt? I will never forget all the members as a child when my cousins and I would have our family Easter egg hunts. The goal was always to find that five dollar egg and of course get the most eggs you can get for all that wonderful candy inside them.

Now that myself and most of my cousins are older we don’t have our annual Easter egg hunts. Until this year, the thrill of those earlier years, were only a memory. This year, I planed an Easter egg hunt for my two little nieces. Both Lauren and Bailey are at that age were they can grasps the concept of an “Easter egg hunt”. It was a lot of joy and bought back great memories of the fun I use to have when I took part in Easter egg hunts. Their personalities came through with their individual techniques to gather their eggs. Since one is 2 now and the other is 20 months old, they had similar excitement in the thrill of picking up one egg at a time and placing it in their baskets. Lauren’s basket was yellow, Bailey’s was purple. We were all laughing so hard when they run past 2-3 eggs to pick up one they saw, or when they stopped and wanted to see what was in the egg before getting another one. In the end, the younger niece had better technique and wasn’t afraid to climb up or crawl under bushes to pick up her eggs and Bailey’s basket was overflowing. I can’t wait for next years annual hunt.

Summer is Quickly Approaching!

This will be my third year coaching for Delhi swim team as you should all know by now if you have been reading my blogs. I want to try to make a few changes in the way that I will be coaching this year. When you are a coach of younger children, I’ve learned that you have to take your approaches a little bit different than, say if you were coaching older children. I find myself relating events or even using cartoons or funny stories that I know they like to get their attention.

Some of the changes I want to make this year in my coaching style is to have more weekly “swimmers of the week” to help motivate younger kids by showing that hard work does pay off in the long run. Yes, it may be summer time and you don’t want to get up for those early practices. Who really enjoys that? But I want to recognize the ones who are working hard, paying attention, coming to practices, show team work and start to see that practice really does help them get better.

Lil Kickers

Ask yourself, when do you think it is too soon to place your child into a sporting program? In today’s society sports are more than just an activity to place your child into. Many people use sports as a way to learn life lessons, gain a sense of who they are and adapt to different situations, and even use sports as a way to make a living.

Lil Kickers is a new program at the Rivers Edge sporting complex. What is Lil- Kickers? It is a program for little kids starting at the age of 18 months up to two years old. Each child must be accompanied by a parent at all times. Lil-Kickers are just the first time a toddler learns the basic skills of following instructions, working with others to share and learn to kick the ball in a way that begins these kids thinking about the bsic concepts of learning to play together and have fun doing it.. I now have two little nieces Lauren and Bailey and they both have taken part in the new program Lil kickers. Bailey is only 18 months old and Lauren is 22 months. I asked my sister if I could come with her and take part in watching them learn and adapt to playing soccer. My sister’s daughter Bailey had been taken part in Lil kickers for a few weeks now. Bailey was the youngest Lil Kicker out on the field and sure wasn’t letting her age hold her back. The day I went to watch was Lauren’s (my brother’s daughter) very first time taking part in Lil-Kickers. I was taken back how fast Bailey was able to learn the rules of not using your hands; soccer was a game of “kicking the ball”. Lauren wanted to use her hands a lot at first and wasn’t sure how to kick the ball without falling.

Many of the games and actives used were some of the same techniques of what I do every time I am getting ready to play a game myself. They had a warm-up to skipping, hopping, running and many other games to get them warmed up before playing soccer. I found myself relating to the coach using little key terms that the kickers would understand. When I coach swimmers, I find myself relating and making my teaching skills easy for kids at such young age listen and grasp a better understanding.

Conference rings are almost here!!

About two months ago we were requested to place our order for the HCAC (Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) championship rings. This is the permanent reminder and prize for winning the women’s soccer team division in 2008. I was one of six other seniors that had already had the same achievement in 2005 when we were the freshman collegiate athletes. We of course received the 2005 ring for free, but there is a conference rule that any further championship rings would have to be purchased by the students themselves. All seven seniors this year had to buy their Conference rings if they wanted to have one. I know it’s a division III conference but I believe that if you work hard and succeed at after many, many days of practice, sweat and trips to the athletic trainer’s office, our team’s performances should be rewarded by the school that we represented with pride, and not have to reward ourselves.
Not all seniors on the team bought a conference ring mainly because they couldn’t afford it. The great thing is that we have our memories of the successful year, lifelong friendships and many interesting pictures that tell the story of our four years together. The sad thing is that the entire collegiate athletic experience has come to an end. The incoming freshman and returning players for 2009 will now have a new coach and opportunities for the few returning players to step up and take over as the leaders of the team. The 2009 team has great potential and the graduating seniors will be there to cheer them on to another great season. Victory is so sweet!

How much is too much?

How much is too much? When friends or family call me asking if I want to play in a league or even just sub for their indoor soccer team I am one who isn’t quick to say no. I find myself at times playing 4-5 soccer games a week. A few weeks back I somehow hooked myself into playing four games all in just one Sunday.
I am on four different teams right now. Two teams I play at Western hills sports mall, and the other teams are at Rivers Edge soccer complex. The only day I “rest” from playing soccer seems to be on Saturdays.
Some of these teams are tougher than others. These mixed leagues require a minimum of three lady on the field at all times with some additional rules about the process for scoring needing at least the girl to touch the ball at least once before a score could count. The indoor teams are very aggressively played by most of the boys. I usually limp away from most games from attacks on my legs and ankles. I don’t really know what keeps me coming back. I guess I took to many head balls over the years. That knocked some sense out of me.