YAY for competitiveness

It's not about having fun.  It's totally about winning ...because winning IS fun!

HA!  Sadly it's true, I'm that crazy, competitive parent.  My husband even uses it against me.  "You can't do that." ...only guarantees it will happen.  I refer you to the time I had to ride a bike 20 miles.

One of my most favorite things of all is watching the kids play their sports.  It is probably on my top ten favorite things to do.  I wish I could still play and be a superstar athlete, but those days are over.  :)  HA!  So  now I get to live vicariously through my children ...every goal they score makes me happier than perhaps it should.  :)

I try really hard not to yell too much.  I'm usually coaching and allowed to yell, but as a parent I try to keep it under control.  Sometimes I have to walk away though ...might say something not nice.  :)  At least I know my limits.  :)

Like on Saturday, Scotty was playing his first soccer game and he was goalie (because nobody else wanted to and Daddy is coach.  Coach Daddy is obligated to make his own kid do what nobody else wants to do ...downside of being coach's kid).   Scotty was goalie and there was this blob of kids in front of the goal kicking frantically at the ball.  Scotty ran out and pounced into the middle of the crowd.  He landed plop on the ball and grabbed it.  HA!  Take that other team!!!!  Even at Sierra's last game she made an amazing save as Goalie and people on the sidelines were talking about it...  :)  Times like those make all my time and driving and waiting and money worth it!  My kids kick butt.

...and I'm sure Michaela has some wonderful soccer moves too, but all her games have been "away" so far; her first home game is this Friday.  Andrea.  Oh Little Andrea.  Her soccer is hilarious and dare I say she is destined to be the best soccer player in the family.  :)  She chases and kicks that tiny little "mini-ball" with all her four year old might.  Of course, the very next minute she might be laying face down in the wet grass refusing to play ...but hey, we all have our ups and downs.  I get it.  :)

However, I didn't mean to write about soccer.  I meant to write about Volleyball.

On the first day of school Sierra had team tryouts.  She could choose between soccer and volleyball, but she could only try out for one.  I knew she would make it on the soccer team because I know what her skills are like compared to other soccer players of the same age, she's good, but I had no idea about volleyball.  I didn't know anything about volleyball.  The only thing I did know is that in her school, volleyball is the most competitive sport, 40-50 girls tryout and they only take 12 or 13.

There I was ...stuck in a parenting "situation".  Do I have her go for the "guaranteed team" and be on the soccer team, or have her try for volleyball and perhaps get nothing?  Kinda like Deal or No Deal.  UGH.  Well, I let her pick and I didn't tell her about the fact I was warned about the volleyball team being very hard to get on. I just mentioned soccer teams are bigger.  :)  If she wants something, what right do I have to discourage her or tell her to go with the "safe" choice?

Well, of course she picked volleyball and the try-outs seemed to go well...  She got a letter after the second day of try-outs and I quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road while she opened it.

....She totally made the team!  Of course she did!  I knew she would.  YAY!!!!  She was beyond excited.  This was huge!  Later we learned there was only two 7th graders on the team and she was one of them.  It's more fun to work hard for something and get it opposed to just get on the team because you signed a piece of paper.

I went to her first volleyball game and these girls are Olympic Athletes!  They are spiking and diving and yelling instructions, moving all over the place.  It's insane!  I can't believe how good these teams are!  Sierra's team is amazing.  They play real plays like grown ups and I'm impressed they can even return the balls that are pounded towards their little faces.  Sierra hasn't had a lot of playing time so far, but the season is early and I'm still happy she is where she is.  I think even she will need some time to get accustomed to new level of Volleyball she is playing.  :)