Sports. Every time we discuss athletics in reference to our kids, Daniel and I find ourselves sitting on the fence.
On the one hand, we both had really great experiences growing up and playing various sports (even if we were never great). On the other hand, we are concerned about the level of competition and expectations for kids these days (even little kids). To be honest, we are turned off by the whole hullabaloo.
With that being said, we are slowing dipping our toes into the waters and getting a feel for what may, or may not, be in our future.
We don't plan to push our boys into sports if they don't like it, but we do want to give opportunities to try things. And there are pros to participating in sports like discipline, team work, and becoming stronger and more coordinated.
At the end of last year, Jack came home saying that he really wanted to do gymnastics. It was pretty much all he talked about. So, we signed him up for 8 weeks of classes with friends.
He had a great time participating in these classes, but I don't really see him doing gymnastics on a long-term basis.
While the little girls (for the most part) attempted to learn how to properly do cartwheels and rolls, Jack treated the floor exercises like a timed obstacle course. He didn't care about doing it right, he just wanted to do it as fast as possible.
Also, he wasn't crazy about the bars. Flipping over them is not his cup of tea. I am proud of him for trying everything even when it scared him (another benefit to athletics is getting out of your comfort zone!).
Overall I would say that gymnastics was a good experience. He has really good balance (he has been walking on narrow beams since he was two), but I don't think we will sign up again unless he shows more interest.
T ball is more involved than gymnastics in that it is an evening commitment to practice every Monday night, as well as a Saturday commitment for games. For EIGHT weeks. This means no spring camping and our Saturdays will revolve around ball games. We don't love this, but we're trying to embrace this season of our life.
Also, when we signed up for T ball I was envisioning the movie The Sandlot. You know: a rag tag group of kids, old tennis shoes, sharing a bat and even a helmet.
That time Jack didn't feel good and refused to do an assisted cartwheel on the beam... afterward we went to the grocery store and he threw up in the checkout line.
Then we received the list of things each kid needed: glove, cleats, bat, helmet.
This was not exactly what we had in mind. We weren't dying to spend a ton of money on something he might not even like. But we had already paid our fees, so I checked our church's Mom Swap group on Facebook to see if we could get anything second hand.
I am so thankful that I did this because church friends with older kids hooked us up with gear they had outgrown, and I don't have to feel guilty about spending a bunch on new things. If Jack decides he likes it we might consider some new gear, but for now, we are sticking with second hand.
Here's to spring tee ball season and all that it might hold!
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