O-Town Smackdown

High hopes. Preparation. Dedication. Perseverance. These adjectives describe the Panther White Lightweights today as they entered round 2 of the playoffs vs. Frankfurt. It was their chance to beat this undefeated team after such a close call earlier in the season.

But, yet again, Frankfurt pulled off a win. The final score was 6-0. And thus ends our 2008 season. But what a great season it has been! As parents, we have literally watched this team grow and develop at a rapid pace right before our eyes. And it has been an amazing thing to witness.

Can't wait til next year.
Meantime, we get a couple weeks off. Then wrestling season begins! Which equals more cheering from the bleachers!

Columbus Day Weekend

We have had a really fun weekend!
Lots of family time, which we've really needed after weeks of busy, busy school and work days.

Friday night, my big sis came down from Rockford and joined me at Girlfriend's Night, which is a comedy/dinner. We had so much fun! Great girly time. And great food...catered in from Carabbas. She spent the night and we stayed up late, watching chick shows. Super fun sista time!

Saturday, I took Reese to a classmate's birthday party. It's the first he's been invited to. So cute! We had to cut out early, tho, to make it to Mark's football game. It was round one of the playoffs. Mark's team took on the Joliet Raiders, who (in my opinion) play awfully dirty. We beat them, tho! Yay! And Ryan did another awesome job announcing the game over the stadium speakers. He makes the game so fun and comical with his comments and sound effects. lol. So, yes! Joliet was beat and are done for the season while Mark's team moves on to round two of the playoffs. They will have a chance to redeem themselves against Frankfurt! The team that just barely squeezed out a touchdown in the final 28 seconds of the game a few weeks ago! This will be quite a showdown! Go Panthers! The winner of this game will go to the semi-finals! So exciting!

Saturday night, we ate at our favorite restaurant. Okay, not our total favorite....but the only one that feeds our family on exactly $13. The one-and-only Taco Bell! Gotta love dining on a budget! lol! Then we came home and watched a movie as a family.

Sunday was church. Ryan and I helped lead Kid's Connection for both morning services, since Pastor Michael was out of town. It went really well. I sang with the worship team, and Ryan did an awesome job speaking to the 4th and 5th graders. I'm so proud of him! After church, we came home for some lunch and a string of NFL games, which included our very own Chicago Bears! What an upset! We were screaming our heads off when they scored and took the lead with 11 seconds remaining in the game. Then, with literally 1 second on the clock, the Falcons kicked a field goal, winning the game. Holy smokes! Who knew?? After we regained a normal breathing pattern, we phoned Ryan's parents, who invited us out for dinner. Dinner at Kiku's which is a really posh sushi house. The kids love watching the cooks fire up the grill on our table and toss up eggs and utensils and catch them in their shirt pockets and stuff. Fun tricks. Then we headed back to their place to sit around their firepit in the backyard while the kids jumped on the trampoline and played with the puppy. I love it! Watching the kids create fun memories at Grandma and Papa's house. Then we headed home to put the kids to bed and watch one more flick with Mark (we're really trying to take advantage of every moment!) But not before stopping at Meijer on the way home and picking up a copy of Sleeping Beauty on dvd for Marina. Which was a good deal, because it came with a free Princess doll. She was thrilled!

Monday (Columbus Day) the kiddies had no school. I had no daycare kids. So Rye took the day off as well. We got to sleep in. So nice! After breakfast, Ryan took Mark out to a jogging path in Naperville. They jogged 3 miles together! I'm so proud of them! We had fun playing all day (altho, I did make Mark do some reading throughout the day). And Ryan and I had some really good conversation over coffee, which we NEVER have time to do! What an awesome day! Right now, the boys are outside playing catch while I update the blog. We are going to have dinner soon...and, you guessed it, watch another flick! We are trying to get thru our list of "gotta-see-that-someday" movies.

More football...sorry!

Mark's team took on New Lenox on Saturday...and they won! The final score was something like 33-12. A very exciting game! That concludes their regular season with a record of 5 wins and 3 losses. Now we have a 'by' week, then on to the playoffs. Fun times.

Since we were all the way out in New Lenox for the game, we decided to grab some lunch as a family, when Mark's game finished, and then we returned to the field to catch the Varsity game (another slaughter win!) while Mark played around the bleachers with some of his teammates.

Lots of football families spend the entire day on the field, as they have several kids on the various team levels. Next year, Reese will be old enough to join Superlight, and Mark will continue to play on Lightweight, which means we will have 2 games to sit thru. Then, when Marina is 6, she will be old enough to cheer for Superlight...and by then Mark will be on Varsity, so we will be one of those families spending the entire day on the bleachers, supporting our kids.

I really don't mind tho. It's so fun to hang out with other football families, and cheer each others' kids on. And it's fun to see Reese and Marina proudly cheer for their big brother. It's also a good excuse for Ryan and I to sit close on the bleachers, like we did in high school, and share a pack of M&Ms or some nachos. lol. Good memories. Good times.

The Underdogs

As I was sitting on the sidelines @ football practice yesterday, I gained a new appreciation for the sport. Also for the coaches. Mark's team will take on an undefeated team on Saturday. His coaches have reviewed video footage from that team's previous games and have learned their plays and their setup on the line. Like any good coach, they are coordinating our plays based on the other team's strengths and weaknesses.

I was watching some of the creative offensive plays that our coaches were teaching the kids, and I was thoroughly impressed. Usually my attention is on the linemen, where Mark plays. So, watching the offensive guys practice (center, QB, receivers, running backs, etc) was new to me. I was surprised by how much creativity and cleverness goes into those plays. The coaches have to be prepared, sharp thinking, and ready to adjust at every moment of the game. I am so proud of our coaches. As they worked with the kids, I was amazed at how much choreography goes into their movements. Faking a pass, using large movements, being quick and purposeful in every step. It was so fascinating to me.

I'm excited to see our guys take on this tough team tomorrow. We will walk in as the underdogs. We will be underestimated. But, like the last two weeks when we played and beat 2 tough teams, if our guys can be focused and pull off some of these crafty, well planned plays, I really think we stand a chance. We'll see how it goes!

Catching Up Part 2

This week, Mark had a rough time in football. He missed an entire week of practice while we were away at camp, and the very next day after returning home, he had to play in their first season game. The team seemed a bit unorganized, and they ended up losing the game. Sad day!

When the coaches reviewed the video footage of the game, they noticed that, among other players, Mark had not given much effort at all! So the following week of practice was like boot camp for the team. The coaches seemed to be on a mission to discipline these kids.

A couple of the coaches took it much too far, in my opinion. I don't mind them being tough with the kids, and working them hard so that they grow physically and mentally as players. But a couple of these coaches were using very raw words and were cutting these kids down personally, including Mark. They were saying things like, "Did you leave your brain back at camp?!" and "Come on girls, this isn't dance class!" and "What's wrong with you?! Pay attention!!"

Once in awhile, a comment like that is okay. But to keep hearing those coaches spewing words like that onto 9yr old kids...not cool. WE don't talk that way to our kids. Why would we let someone else?? What resulted was Mark giving almost zero effort in practice all week, and tears as he came off the field, so frustrated with the coaches, and finally, Ryan having to pull the coach aside and tell him to backoff!

Yesterday was game 2. Ryan and I did all we could to pump up Mark before the game. We encouraged him that this game is a chance to show his coaches that we've been practicing at home and that he's ready to be aggressive and focused out on the field. Mark was excited to get out there and show them. Unfortunately, he never got that chance. The coaches ripped his butt off first string and benched him for most of the game. They told him that if he wanted more gametime, he would have to show more effort at practice.

Again, Mark came off the field after the game (and incidentally...another loss), with tears and frustration. I felt so bad for him. But I also took that moment as a teaching tool.

You see, almost everything has come easy to Mark throughout his short lifetime. School is a piece of cake. He rarely has to study for tests and can easily pull off an A. Sports have also come easy for him. His husky size has made him a great lineman, and a first choice for coaches, no matter which team he's played on. He had walked into football as a 7yr old and was immediately placed on first string defense and offense (something the coaches told us they rarely do).

He then entered his 2nd yr of football, the biggest kid on the team who could almost effortlessly push a line of opposing players back off his QB. Now we enter Mark's 3rd season, which has required him to move up to a greater weight class, with new coaches, bigger kids, and a much greater skill level...yet again, they put him on first string offense and defense, while the rest of the 9yr olds that moved up with him are getting very little playtime.

For the first time, Mark is having to work his tail off in order to keep that first-string status. And he's getting benched for lack of effort. I think it's a very good lesson for Mark to learn. To have to work hard, through heat and muscle aches and shouting coaches, in order to obtain a desired priviledge. Kinda cool.

So, I pumped him up again, after yesterday's discouraging loss, and I told him that this next week in practice is another chance for him to blow his coaches away with his effort. He has the chance to earn his play-time back for the next game. And he has the opportunity to show himself what he can accomplish when he truly gives 100%. Our conversation lifted his spirits quite a bit. But I still didn't feel like it was enough, after such a tough, emotional week.

So, after dinner, I suggested that Mark and I hop in the car and return to the football field to catch the end of Varsity's game. When we got there, it was halftime, so we were able to watch quite a bit of the game. He was so excited to see the skill level those kids were at. As we sat there, he kept talking about what it will be like when he gets to that level. I thought that was really neat. It put a taste in his mouth for greater things, and showed his the reward that awaits, if he will only stick it out during these grueling, rough practices.

By fourth quarter, he noticed some of his teammates playing catch over past the bleachers, and he asked if he could go play with them. I said yes, and quietly sat and watched the rest of the Varsity game alone. I knew that it was probably just as beneficial for Mark to play with his teammates, on a friendly basis, and get to know them OFF the field. That will hopefully build comradery and loyalty, that will translate into even greater effort ON the field. He walked away from that day with a renewed excitement for the game of football, for time spent with his team, and heightened spirits that will hopefully bring him through another week of boot camp. LOL.