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!

What it's all about

I am taking a break from our story. I would like to talk about this weekend and what I witnessed. Devan was down in Charleston, SC for his weekend Team Carolina practice. Jordan and the Carolina Comets decided to play a roller tournament in Raleigh, NC. It would be the first time that they have played in months. It is getting harder and harder for the guys to get together. Even though they are all dear friends, High School and other sports take up most of their time. As much as they are dedicated to their other sports, roller hockey is their first love. The Carolina Comets is their true love.

Anyway, it's Saturday and we have a break between games. I wondered over to the indoor soccer fields to pass some time. Out on the field is two teams. The kids couldn't have been over 6 years old. I stood their mesmerized. These kids were running back and forth, jumping up and down. They were having the time of their lives. What was so amazing you ask? From the coaches to the parents, everybody was just letting these kids play. Coaches were amazing, parents were excellent. I must have watched for at least 45 minutes. All the while memories of my boys flooding into my head. At one point I actually had to wipe away a tear. Not a tear of sadness, but a tear of joy, for I too remember when it was all for fun, all for the love of the game.

It doesn't matter what you are told or what you read, at some point an elite athlete and sports gets serious. Don't get me wrong, they still play because they love to, because they want to, it's just different. The kids lose some of that innocence. It is not a bad thing, its just different. As they get better, as they move up the athletic chain, the pressure gets greater, the expectations grow, the innocence slips away. As parents and players we try to hold onto that as long as possible, grip it tight because it goes. My advice to everyone is enjoy every moment, soak it all in. This is a great time, the best times of our lives.

It did not take long for reality to set back in, the Comets next game actually. More on that later. Remember, love the game, love the players, love the moment.