Us3

Us3

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Sports

I love that AJ is finally at the age where he can participate in organized sports. It's SO fun to watch him grow up and I often wonder which sports he will grow to really love. I grew up playing tennis and softball, but soccer was what I remember loving the most. I loved going to practice a few nights a week and seeing all my friends and then spending the weekends at games or tournaments with friends and family. I have so many wonderful memories of that! Of course, I wish that for AJ too, but will be perfectly fine if sports aren't his thing.

That being said, at 3 years old, he doesn't have a lot of choice in what sports he plays. That's up to Jason and I to decide at this point. So, he's in his second swim class and just started soccer.

He is taking swim lessons at our local rec center and this year, I signed him up for the Preschool 1 class. This means I don't have to get in the water. I think I may have blogged about this already. So, that was for 4 weeks and he did pretty well. There were 4 boys in the class and I'd say he was right in the middle as far as skill goes. He has been going in the water with me since he was VERY young, but since I wasn't in the water with him, it took some time to get adjusted. After the session was over, I asked his teacher if I should move him to Preschool 2 class and she said I could, but it would probably benefit him more if he did Preschool 1 again. Boy, was she right!

Luckily, I was able to get him into the same class again with the same teacher (Miss Kayla, who AJ just completely adores!) and there was also this cute little boy, Brant who was repeating. This session he has seriously become a different child! He loves to go, he can't wait to see Miss Kayla, he puts his head entirely under the water and kicks, scoops with his arms and holds on the side of the pool for the entire 20 min class (rather than sitting on the steps). I wasn't able to go but Jason told me that yesterday- his final class for the session- he actually went under so deep that he was able to touch the bottom of the pool! Jason told me that everyone was SO PROUD of him and he was VERY proud of himself! He's come a very long way in just a few short weeks! I'm very happy we made the decision to keep him in PS1 and now we'll move him up to PS2 starting in September. Even if he doesn't want to be a kid on swim team when he grows up, it's very important to me that he learns to be safe in the water.

The other sport, soccer, he just started last week. Again, sadly I wasn't able to go (I was soooo sad to miss his first practice!) but Jason was there and coached and my mom and Dave were able to attend too. Jason's comment to me was that AJ had fun, but it was "more like heading cats, than playing soccer". haha! Imagine trying to teach soccer drills to 4 kids at once. Sounds nearly impossible to me. But, he got in his uniform and his shin guards and cleats and they kicked a lot of goals and had fun. AJ told me he had a good time and I look forward to going to watch him this week!

Strategizing with Coach Daddy :)
  
Yes, he is #1


My Soccer Stud!

Great kick!