I Love Hockey!

More to the point, I love watching my boys play hockey. Devan had a solid weekend playing a little puck scoring a game winner with 3.6 seconds left. Solid play all weekend resulted in some pretty good stats but after getting a bye as the first seed they were upset by the 5th seed. Big D played pretty good but the teasm had some serious breakdowns that resulted in the loss.

Jordan finished his redshirt year at the Abbey. Great grades were the icing on the cake. Look forward to a strong 2009 season. It's good to have him back home for a bit. He ran into some friends from the Comets and they have the itch again. I think they are looking to play a few tournaments this summer. I can't wait.

The Abbey!

It's official, we have moved Big J into the Abbey. It was a day marked by extreme joy and extreme sadness for everybody. I guess when you are as close to your children, and they to you, it makes it hard to let go. As proud as we are about what J has accomplished, it was very hard to pack up his stuff and move him into the Abbey. It will definitely take some getting used to not having him around all the time. Football Saturdays, the daily Detroit Tiger breakdowns, and the Detroit Lions bitch sessions will now have to take place over the phone. I will really miss that part of our relationship. I guess we can't keep them little forever (as much as we'd like to). Two more years and D will be off to college also, don't even want to contemplate that right now.

GO CRUSADERS!

Take Advantage

The dog days of summer are here. Older youth athletes have summer workouts and tryouts
for high school teams and the like. What about the younger athletes, what do they do? When my boys were young we did a lot of non-specific games. We played a lot of catch with both footballs and baseballs (hand-eye-feet coordination), played hacky sack (hand-eye-feet), wiffle ball, swimming, and good old fashioned tag. Anything to keep them up and moving. Make it fun and at the same time they will be working on a skill that will benefit them later on in their sports endeavors.

Avoid burnout, no kid can practice a single sport all year and not get tired of it. If they get burnt potential doesn't matter much. Keep it simple, keep it fun, that's what summer is for. There is plenty of time for the structure of competitive youth sports, don't forget to let them have some fun!

The Time Is Near!

Very soon the boy will take the field for the first time since the injury. It is a time of apprehension and anticipation. He is very ready. We are too, just nervous as hell. He has put in a lot of time and effort to make it back for The Tampa Sunbowl, and I would hate for him to have any kind of setback.

We will also be partaking in a football game. The Citrus Bowl (Capital One Bowl) in Orlando Jan.1 will be a very good game. Michigan vs Florida, should be a dandy. A good reward for another trouble free year from the boys. Good grades, work hard, stay out of trouble, that's all you can ask.

Dreaded This Night!

Last night was the night we all dreaded, High School Soccer Banquet Night. It was a very hard year. We tried to stay supportive of the program but to sit and listen to everything about the season, awards, all conference, all region, etc. just sucks.

All those awards were supposed to be my sons', not someone else. He trained his ass off getting ready for this season only to have it all taken away. He loves his HS team and wanted to lead them to great things.

Jordan did a great job of helping the team despite his injury. He coached the younger guys, giving them tips, and getting on them when they were lazy. For this he was recognized by his coaches and teammates, he received the coaches award. I am very proud of him. Many athletes pack it in when faced with adversity, he rose to the occasion. It has made him a stronger man.

On the rehab front it looks like he has gained back most of the muscle mass he lost due to the injury. Everything is looking good for at least a brief appearance in the Tampa Sun Bowl.

Baseball

We have been practicing hard. Hitting in the cage, fielding at the ballpark in SP. Devan is looking more comfortable every day. He is showing the passion that he used to display in Hockey. I haven't seen it in a couple of years. He really seems to be having a blast. Tryouts in February, I think he will be more than ready.

The First Game

We had the first varsity soccer game since J's injury. Let me tell you, that was a lot harder than I though it would be. It was supposed to be his year. This would have been his 4th year on varsity. It was his year.

It has been quite some time since J's name was not announced in the starting lineup. I believe that is when it hit home for both Heather and myself. I never expected it to be quite so hard.

He's now on the long road to recovery. We'll hear his name announced again, I'm positive.

On a happier note. The batting cage will be here on Wednesday. Devan is chomping at the bit to get a crack at that badboy.

A precursor: Jordan attended the Ralph Lundy camp 2 weeks ago. It went great. Many colleges left impressed by my boy.

Next up was the University of Michigan camp. This is his first choice, the reason he has been training since he was five years old. The head of recruiting even sought him out before camp to discuss his future. The dream was coming true.

Camp started with a fitness test which of course he dominated. Next was the first scrimmage of the camp. Five minutes in it all came crashing down. Jordans' left knee blew apart. ACL-tore, meniscus and mcl-will know more after surgery.

Senior year leading Pinecrest to the state playoffs-gone, Region III with TFC-gone. An unbelievable turn of events for a kid that didn't deserve it. Hopes are now on salvaging a portion of club season. College soccer is a huge question mark now. What was a sure thing is anything but at this point.

How do you comfort a child that just had everything he has worked for taken away? I do not know the answer. We are staying positive, but it is very hard. The whole town is in a daze.

As his not so little brother Devan said, "How did this happen, that is Jordan, he's invincible". Jordan can't get hurt, he's "J HOW" for crying out loud.

He will be seen wednesday by Dr. Gates-Team Dr. for the Men's and Women's National Soccer Teams and Team Dr. for Duke University. I believe this really shows what kind of reputation my son has. People pulling strings to get him the best care and rehab.

He will be back, with a lot of prayers and hard work, we believe the Duke sports medicine machine will make him like new. He will play college ball.

Baseball

Baseball! Devan has the bug. He thinks he may want to play baseball again. I am very excited about this development. We have been taking bp up at the local ballfield. He is hitting the cover of the ball. Should be good times.

Jordan is gearing up for the fall soccer season. He has received quite a bit of interest for college ball. Schools: Belmont Abbey, Lipschombe, Lander, West Virginia, Elon, Dayton, Wingate, Michigan, Virginia Tech, to name a few. He will have to start narrowing down after camp season. He will be playing in Raleigh again-Triangle Futbol Club. He will have fun.

Later

been awhile

hey all, its been awhile. We have been very busy with the boys. Hockey, soccer, school. It has been non-stop. We have had tryouts, tournaments, games, etc. since I last posted. A quick update:

Jordan and his soccer team have made it to the state cup final four. They play next weekend and have a very good shot at winning the whole thing. He is playing at a unbelievable level right now, I believe he may just carry this team all the way to the championship. Hopefully he can continue at this level thru his soccer camps-Wingate and University of Michigan to name a couple.

Devan had a tryout for the east coast eagles Junior C team. He was one of the youngest players at the tryouts. The age cut-off is 20 yrs old. He played his heart out, but it was not meant to be yet. He had a good showing and we felt he had a legitimate chance to make the team, alas, he was cut. He was not that bummed, he knows he was pretty young for that level. He has AAA tryouts this weekend. The competition will be fierce, he will need to bring his best to make the team. I believe he will. We will keep everyone posted.

How about the Detroit teams-Pistons, Red Wings, Tigers, all playing very well. We may see a NBA championship, a Stanley Cup, and a World Series this year. How incredible would that be?

I know, I know

I know I promised to get back to the boys story. I will soon enough. It has been entirely to busy lately. The mighty Comets played in another inline tourney, taking the championship. Add another gold medal to Jordans' wall. The Sandhillls Thunder are enjoying a fine season. Undefeated and in 1st place with one game remaining. They should have a nice run at the State Cup.

Devan is gearing up for a slew of tryouts with a bit off fun mixed in. He will be playing in an iron man ice tourney. His team is the defending champs. It is a blast, a low stress weekend right before select tryouts. It will be fun.

I will get back to the story sometime this week. Stay tuned!

Back to our story-not so fast

We shall get back to our story very soon. Just got back from districts. We did manage to get a couple of days of some much needed r&r. The boys were able to watch their beloved Tigers play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Jordan hobnobbed with Sheffield and got his autograph on a ball he got during batting practice. Devan did the same with the walrus Todd Jones. Jones tossed him a ball and then signed it. It was very cool. Now its back to the grind.

it's over

It is bittersweet. The hockey season has officially ended. We beat TPH 3-1 to set up a showdown with Team Maryland for a spot in the finals. Everything started well. We were dominating, just couldn't score. As as happened all season, the wheels came off. A couple of soft goals, a few dumb mistakes, stupid penalties, and it was 7-3. Game over. This was a hard team to figure out. One game they were awesome, next terrible. On to next year.

Jordan and his club soccer team improved to 3-0 beating a strong team from the coast. His team is very good. We are looking for a very good season from them. Now we shall enjoy the next couple of days at Siesta Key. A much deserved vacation.

Sunny Florida

Well at least the weather is nice. First game of districts did not go so good. We had two breakaways in the first 2 minutes and couldn't score on either. The everblades scored on their first shot. It never got any better. Final 4-1. We now must win the remainder of our games and get a little help to get to the finals. We shall see. Devan had a strong game. He was hitting anything that moved, he was a beast. I never have to worry about him, he always brings his A-game. Time to get a tan.

Districts!

It has been awhile since I have posted anything. Have been very busy with the boys. We are heading to Districts in Florida Wednesday and just finished a full weekend of hockey/soccer. I will get back to the boys story just as soon as we get back from districts. I will try to update on the goings on in Florida. So until then, later.

Back To The Boys!

Ok, we had our first taste of travel sports and it tasted good. We had a pretty successful tourney in Raleigh and were ready for more. I knew the boys were good but they had to get better competition than what we had in the Sandhills Youth Inline Hockey League if we ever wanted to compete with the best.

Around the same time Jordan was asked to tryout for the Sandhills Youth Soccer Leagues' new U10 Classic team, The Sandhills Lightning. This team would be comprised of the best players in the SYSL recreation program. They would play teams from different cities and play some tournaments. Jordan needed this, there was very little competition for him in the rec league.

Tryouts went just as expected, Jordan and Coby Kavanaugh were clearly the top two, although a few others had good talent also. This was going to be a good team. My only concern at the time was the coaching, would the coaching be on par with the talent?

The team was chosen and practice began. Almost immediately the coach stepped down and a new one was named. I didn't have a clue about either guys so we just went with the flow. How good could this team be?

Busy Busy!

I have not had the opportunity to blog much the last week or so. The boys have been keeping us very busy. Devan just returned from a hockey trip to Maine and New Hampshire. They did pretty well only losing one game. Jordan and Murilo (our Brazilian, more on that later) have been busy with club soccer. Heather and myself have been busy with work and taxes. We will be leaving for New York in a few days for another hockey trip, then it's off to Florida for the district championships. Like I said busy busy.

I have also been working on another blog Forex For Profit. It is a description of my currency trading. I have designed a system (The Grail) that is proving to be quite profitable. Each day I put my trades on the blog for all to see, no cheating. Check it out. An

That's it for tonight, we are watching the MSU-UofM basketball game. It doesn't get any better than that. I will continue with the boys' saga tomorrow. Stay tuned. GO BLUE!

Raleigh here we come!

We were ready for the big time. We were ready to take the show on the road. The Carolina Hurricanes were having an Inline Hockey Tournament. Our team was decent, the boys were growing tired of playing Fayetteville, it was perfect. There would be teams from North and South Carolina, we thought it would be great to see how our boys measured up.

Off to Raleigh we went, kids and parents alike all chomping at the bit. We actually fared pretty well. We beat a few and lost a few. Jordan really stood out, scoring at will against everybody. One game he scored a few in regulation then won the game on the last shot of the shootout, incredibly exciting. Devan played very strong defense against boys 2-3 years older than him. The most memorable moment of his tourney came against a team called the biscuit bangers based out of the Gretzky Center in Raleigh. They were a very good team (eventual champs) and they were physically dominating us. Taking extra runs at both Jordan and Devan. One player in particular was really giving the boys a hard time. He was a year older than Jordan and quite a bit bigger. Donovan was his name. Anyway, late in the game he put a good lick on Devan, Dev got up and chased him all the way to the other end of the rink. They were going at it pretty good in the corner and suddenly Devan grabs Donovan by the Jersey and swings him around. They are now face to face and Devan is challenging him to a fight. Remember this kid is 3 years older and way way bigger. Devan could care less, he had (had) enough, he was going to settle it one way or the other. It would not have been pretty, thank god for big brothers as Jordan stepped in to quell the uprising. To this day Devan has backed down from no one. I think that day he decided he owned the rink, period! It helped that Jordan always kept an eye on his little brother, although he would never admit to it.

The boys hated the biscuit bangers, particularly Donovan. He was their arch-nemesis. Ironically, later on, Jordan and Pat Donovan would become good friends and teammates. Small world. All in all it was a very successful trip to Raleigh and it set the stage for bigger and better things to come. Look out world, here come the Howlett boys.