Fall Sports

This fall has been our busiest sports season to date - Will is playing soccer and baseball, and Hallie is playing soccer and taking gymnastics. We are on the go every evening except Friday, and on Mondays we knock out three different sports-related activities between noon and 6pm. I'm not complaining, however, because I love this piece of the parenting puzzle. There are LOTS of things I'm no good at, but I'm pretty sure "soccer mom" (though I hate the title and will, in the words of Taylor Swift, "NEVER EVER EVER" drive a minivan) isn't one of them. I love sports, watching my kids play sports, taking pictures of my kids playing sports, making snacks for kids on sports teams, and chatting with other parents on the sidelines and in the stands. And you know what? I really don't mind driving the evening sports shuttle.

Here's a little glimpse into our crazy sports-driven fall...

College Station Fall Ball
Will is playing College Station Little League Fall Ball and is on the Mariners with his best buddy, Logan.  As was the case last spring, Will loves - and is pretty good at - baseball, though he wishes they wouldn't make him hit the ball off the tee.  (Spring Ball is coach-pitch t-ball, while Fall Ball is t-ball only.  It's hard to go back to hitting off the tee once you've learned how to hit a ball that's thrown to you.)

Catcher

Waiting for the throw to home plate.

Fielding the throw home.

Off to first base.

Rounding third.

Waiting at second base.

Bored out of her mind.

I wouldn't want to run into that face in a dark alley.

Tom's face clearly says, "are you still talking?  You never, ever, ever stop talking.
You think I'm looking at you and listening to your story about a giraffe named 'No One' but
really I'm looking just past your ear and watching your brother play baseball.  You're cute though."

That's my girl.

Logan, Jackson, and Will

Houston Texans Aggieland Soccer
For a number of reasons we opted not to register Will for the College Station Soccer Club this fall.  Instead, we signed him up for the Houston Texans Aggieland Soccer Clinic, through which he practices and scrimmages with kids his age and under the direction of actual soccer coaches (instead of me) once or twice a week.  If Will continues to be interested in soccer we'll eventually go back to an actual soccer league, but for the time being this was the right choice and we've been really happy with it.

Heading back on defense.

Stealing the ball away.

Throw-in.

Learning how to play defense "like a ninja".

And he's off!

He must be wearing super fast shoes.

Hot Shots Soccer
Hot Shots Soccer, an organization that focuses on teaching the basics of soccer as well as the life skills that accompany team sports (fairness, sportsmanship, teamwork, discipline, respect, etc.) to preschoolers, turned out to be a perfect fit for Hallie.  The organization is owned and the program is run by a former TAMU soccer player, and all of her coaches are accomplished collegiate soccer players as well.  Introducing Hallie to soccer in such a low-key but supportive setting allowed us to avoid the meltdowns that came with Will's first season as a player.

6:30am: ready for her 12:00pm practice.

Plant the foot, lean forward, bring the leg back...

...and follow through!  The ball went like 6 inches.

Goal!

Goal!

My new favorite picture of Hallie.

Practicing ball control.

One foot, then the other foot.

Freeze!

Flag tag - chase Coach Rachel until you pull the flag off.

Chase Hallie!

Usually when Hallie runs she looks like a cross between a penguin and a baby
horse, just learning to walk.  Yet somehow, when the other kids chased her,
she ran like a professional sprinter.  Not sure happened there.  

Running away from Coach Rachel.

"Dribbling" (I put that in quotes because while it looks like she's
dribbling in this picture, Hallie can't dribble the ball to save her life.

Group cheer at the end of practice.

"Hot Shots!"

Brazos Valley Gymnastics
I couldn't be happier with our gymnastics experience thus far.  The facility and equipment are in good shape (though the temperature in the building is always a little too hot for me), the teachers and the teacher-to-student ratio are fantastic, Hallie has two friends in her class, and she really likes gymnastics as an activity.  (I wouldn't call it a sport for Hallie, at least not yet.)  Oh, and sometimes I see Chuck Norris there, so that's a bonus.

Getting a little help on the high beam.

Caroline (on the left, in the black leotard and purple shorts)
and Hallie waiting patiently for their turns.

This is how they walk from event to event.  It's adorable.

Soccer and baseball will come to an end in the next month or so, and at that point we'll transition into the winter sports season.  Last year Will tried basketball, but he won't be playing basketball again; instead, he may take karate or gymnastics.  And both kids are begging me to take swimming lessons again, so we'll see if a weekly trip to the pool can work its way into our schedule.  

And in closing, here's an adorable pic from a recent evening spent watching the Aggie Women's Soccer Team add another victory to their record.