A baseball kid’s dream team – The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. A gymnastics kid’s ultimate moment – State Championships. 2020’s big F.U. moment – Coronavirus.
Do you remember being a kid and looking forward to something so much that you could feel it in your veins? I do too, it was called ‘going to Disneyland’ and ‘tomorrow’s your birthday’. For my kids, however, it’s being able to play their favorite sport and compete so hard that they knock the socks off their opponents.
END OF A SEASON
The first weekend of April, that dream moment would have come for Lily. She was pumped to get her chance to compete at State Championships and make big things happen. Maybe a repeat of 2019, or, perhaps something more grand? Back in ’19, she went to State not knowing anything about it (her dad and I knew that many gyms only send their best athletes so she had her work cut out for her–and to be honest, we had no delusions of her bringing home medals). This little girl competed as though she were at any other meet and made it look effortless. Low and behold, she scored a personal best in uneven bars and vault. Even better? She won the championship title in the Floor Routine. An 8-year-old in her first year competing – just won a State title! It was so much fun to watch.
For the 2020 season, her gymnastics club advanced her to a higher level which certainly opened the door for a challenging learning curve. The pool of athletic talent was more broad and difficult to keep up with but Lily was wholly un-phased. Her temperament is equivalent to that of a…cucumber. I have no idea how else to explain it! She makes her most complicated skill executions look easy and in the event of a flub, simply moves on. There’s no whining, pouting, crying or blaming. It is what it is, it happened, it’s over. Wow, right? It’s a great disposition that most of us don’t possess. This very attitude is what helped lead her to podium finishes and medals that she had worked so cucumber-ingly hard for.
Two weeks after the final competition of the regular season (and two weeks prior to the upcoming State Championship), all he** broke loose in the world. A health crisis slapped us in the face and it would soon become clear that no country would escape it’s effects. As the situation unfolded, the chips began to fall. Schools–cancelled, national sports–cancelled, mega events–cancelled, youth sports–cancelled. Uhhh ohhh…youth sports.
A SEASON JUST BEGINNING
Evan plays baseball. Oh, does he. On the heels of Lily’s season ending, Evan’s was just beginning. The slight overlap between the two sports was enough to give us indigestion but like many parents with multiple kids in multiple sports, we made it happen. This kid, who loves baseball, plays the game with pure fire in his veins. There is a desire to learn from watching the videos of every MLB player & game that he can get his hands on; from practicing with his dad every single day in the yard; and even from teaching his mom how to do it correctly because he wanted more bodies to go outside and practice with. I have been whipped into shape by a 7-year old and he is fierce!
The season started out great. Evan was super lucky that his dad was the coach. They were the Angels–the childhood dream of both a father and son, to represent the team they admired so much. Kinda gets ya in the heartstrings..awwwh. Except that the fun only lasted a practice season plus four games (insert mopey face). It was shaping up nicely with some action-packed wins, killer plays and a sad loss or two, too. The team was good! The boys were coach-able, knew how to play and went out there every game believing in themselves and each other. Many parents could be heard speaking among each other about the coaching staff. They were effective at developing player morale; they were encouraging but strict; they explained the game; taught the game; and made the boys understand what it meant to be a team. A team that displayed respect, confidence, drive — and that could win.
There was a lot in store for this crew. They had adults cheering, sweating, wincing and turning blue from emotional overload at these games! I have personally never screamed, muttered, bounced off a bench, covered my eyes or nearly peed in my pants like I did at these games. I mean NEVER. And this is a game of 2nd and 3rd graders. If Evan stays in sports for the next 10 years, my sanity may not survive. We were all excited to see what the season held but alas, it’ll go down in the books as COVID-19 (1), Little League Baseball (TBD). Perhaps we’ll have a summer season of baseball? Or maybe the just a blip of a memory of ’20 Spring Ball that dissipates into a ’21 Spring Ball season. In the mean time, we’ll keep our wits about us and watch replays of replays of replays because that’s…what…baseball…kids (and their dads)…do. Insert mom banging head on table. 😀
THE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Gymnastics was cancelled. Simultaneously, the announcement of Little League being cancelled fell into our inboxes, too. ‘For the safety of the athletes’, ‘based on recommendations from all governing bodies’, ‘out of an abundance of caution’. You name it, the reason existed. What also existed were tears. The alligator tears of a 9-year-old who realized her most anticipated competition would not come to fruition and a 7-year-old whose only dream, period, is to play baseball. I honestly have not seen such pure sadness, disappointment, and devastation on two children’s faces as I did on this day. Their seasons were indefinitely halted. I’m not the most sympathetic person on the planet; I’m actually quite the hard-ass ‘get over it and toughen up, you’re fine’ type! But that day, I felt their sadness.
Until the return of our regularly scheduled lives (however that ends up looking), stay healthy; safe; happy and spirited. And for those missing sports, that too will return…eventually.
