Elite Player Development 2013

This year, Lucas was invited to tryout for the Elite Player Development program with Washington Youth Soccer. What is it? It is essentially a state team for Washington put together from clubs across the state. You can't just show up for tryouts, you have to be identified by a certified coach in the state and then invited to try out. The boys get to wear the Sounders uniform and eventually move into the Sounders Academy if they keep making the team.

 

We had no idea this type of program existed until we got the email that Lucas had been recommended and then invited. So we packed him up down to Starfire (where the Sounders practice) and in 26 degree weather he had his first tryout.

We watched as he put in everything he had out there on the field. Yes, there were kids that had way more skill and footwork. But what Lucas had was hard word and determination! I am convinced it will take him so far.

He's now down to the final 35 before the next and last cut. It will be a long wait and a lot of nerves. But he has come so far already. They know his name and his face and his playing style now. He has made us so proud and he is having a blast. His club's coaching director is thrilled with his progress and he is representing our club amazingly!

 GO LUCAS!

The Tooth Fairy

This morning, Dama was up early. Lucas came in the room and climbed into bed next to me. He said to me "I caught Daddy putting money under my pillow. I was awake and I thught it was you coming in to cover me up so I just lay there with my eyes closed. I saw Daddy putting the money under my pillow". Through his tears, he asked me if we were really the tooth fairy all along.

He was so....sad! I wrapped him up in my arms and let him talk about all that was on his mind. I felt tears welling up in my eyes too. I knew if I told him at this point, he'd be heartbroken. And to be honest, it was breaking my heart too. I asked him "if it really was us, would you want to know"? He said he did. So I held him close and we lay there silently. He cried and I cried too.

After a couple of minutes of silence, he said "can you go talk to Daddy about why he did that? Maybe he has a reason". So I left and talked to Dama. We decided to go with one more "explanation" that he had found it under HIS pillow and was simply putting it where it belonged. Dama and I came back in the room and told him that. He processed for a while and mentioned he had been up to the bathroom during the night, so maybe she was confused as to where he was.

I just don't know what the right thing to do is. I want to be honest with him but he so much wants to still believe. And I think I'm going to help him with that for a little longer.

A Lighter Load

A couple of days ago, I received a text asking if Lucas would try out for Minors baseball. We had registered him for farm (which has no tryouts and the same level he was at last year: kid pitch to coach pitch after 4 balls). I had never really considered minors as last year was his first year and I figured (in my totally inexpert opinion) that he needed more work on basic skills before moving to minors. I talked to his coach about it and he said to go ahead and try out for minors.

When I talked to Lucas about it, he was excited. He pitched last year and chances are he will not pitch at all in minors for a couple years. He ok'd that (pitching is the cool job for this age)! We (me and Daddy) are going into this assuming he probably won't make it but great experience and a good skills assessment. Lucas is going into it excited but lacking a little confidence, nervous and I think he is expecting to not make it too. We have told him to just go have fun and either way he will play with a great team.

Let me back up to something that seems unrelated, but it will all come together. A few weeks ago, a mom at school who I am friends with mentioned that her son "Jack" and Lucas were having issues at recess. It sounded really uncharacteristic of Lucas but after asking him about it, I realized he wasn't being the greatest friend/teammate on the soccer field. Lucas and I talked at length about it and it seemed to come from him taking soccer way too seriously at recess time and it seemed like a trap he was caught in and couldn't find his way out. He had been critical towards his friend and his friend was hurt. Jack's mom and I had talked before about the myriad of issues on the lunch soccer field (involving all the boys). You put 20 very athletic, competitive boys on a field together without a referee and there will be fireworks!

Lucas and I talked it all out and came to some strategies on how to help the situation. We talked every day after school. We talked about taking it less seriously and having fun. He is the co-captain of his team (as appointed by recess teacher in hopes of controlling the chaos they sometimes had previously) and we talked about what makes a good captain.

Things were going well but there were still a couple of instances where Lucas was unkind to this boy. It had been really bothering me a lot, this was not the kid I know. On his rec and indoor soccer team, he is so encouraging.

So....how does this all come together? Yesterday, with the tryouts looming, he came to me and said "Can you text Jack's mom and see if he will bring his mitt to school and help me get ready for tryouts"? My heart became lighter. When I texted her, I could tell that hers did too. With all that had been going on, I needed to see that he was hearing me. That he realized that he doesn't need to be the best at everything. That part of being a good friend and leader is to rely on your friends and counterparts too. Letting others help YOU is a precious gift you give to yourself and to others.

Amazing how he mended so much with such a small idea.

Cub Scouts

Lucas has joined the Cub Scouts. He is a Bear this year and has really loved it so far. He is very motivated by the patches and belt loops so that certainly helps.

His den of 8 has 2 leaders so it's very well organized and really a lot of fun. I had a hard time picking which pack to enroll him in but decided to stick with the one at his school. I am really glad I did and have heard great things about how active they are.

He has done some cool stuff so far and we are only a month in. At the first meeting, they made marshmallow guns using pvc pipe which they cut themselves. It was pretty neat to see how hands on they were. Then they had the marshmallow fight :) Next meeting they made Alka Seltzer rockets which was a huge hit. Then they built a cardboard fort and had a battle with soft balls. Finally, they made a toolbox out of wood. Super fun!


Lucas got his Bobcat Trail badge last night. He also presented the colors at the meeting. They will be doing that at the Veteran's Day assembly at school and he is super excited he gets to wear his uniform to school.

Serious Stuff

Who ever thought baseball was serious stuff at age 8?

We are having so much fun with baseball. It's Lucas' first year playing. He did do t-ball about 3 years ago but it was just a summer program through the Y. But this year, we are in the big leagues! It has been a lot of fun watching him play and practice. The improvement has been terrific and he loves it all.The team is undefeated so far and won handily 9-2 last week. Could we go-all-the-way?? It's a pretty exciting thought.

The boys get out there on the field and stretch together counting "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8" out loud and in unison. They run to warm up together. They communicate on the field..."let's do this guys!", "be ready, 2 outs!!". Lucas is thriving on being a member of the team, just as he did with soccer. He is in his element.

The team has 3 very dedicated and focused coaches. I cannot say enough about them. So positive and encouraging and they really focus on the right skills and form. They put so much into the kids!

An exciting day came last week when Coach told him he was ready to pitch in a game. That? is big time. I loved seeing such a huge smile on his face.


Love this shot of Lucas at bat and Daddy as the umpire :)

Lucas also made it on the swim team and practices start soon. Can you tell I am proud??!

Growing up

He looks so grown up *sigh*.

I'm Your Biggest Fan!

That is what Lucas said to a police officer yesterday:
The cop was there for us. Some lady turned left directly in front of us (less that 6 feet) and we had no choice but to T-Bone her. If you want a car that is safe and can withstand such an accident, get an Odyssey! The side of her car was a crumpled mess and we have a small scratch on our bumper.

When we pulled into the parking lot after the accident, I said to the lady "What were you thinking?" and she said "WHAT DO YOU MEAN!!!!???". That was where our conversation ended and I called the police.

Thankfully, a witness also followed us into the parking lot and gave me all of her information and the police arrived within 3 minutes. He questioned the witness first, then came to us to confirm, then went to talk with the lady who had called all of her friends to the scene for some reason. As it turns out, she had NO driver's license. Not that she wasn't carrying it, she doesn't have one. Never took the test, never has had a license to drive.

That resulted in a big fat $800.00 ticket for her, on top of a ticket for Failure to Yield because she was 100% at fault. The car belongs to her brother and it is insured so we are good.

We are all fine, the kids are fine and Lucas was treated to a tour of the police car, including the chance to read his name up on the computer screen in the car as the police showed him the report.