Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Eli 11.8 And The Relaxed Schedule Of A Man At Leisure

Eli 11.8s schedule this week and next:
Monday-Hockey
Tuesday-Soccer
Wednesday-Track
Thursday-Soccer
Friday-Track Meet
Saturday-Track Meet
Sunday (morning)-Tennis
Sunday (afternoon)-Band concert
Sunday (evening)-Soccer
Monday-Hockey
Tuesday-Soccer tournament
Wednesday-Hockey
Thursday-Soccer tournament (semis, hopefully)

Hey, at least it's mostly only one sport a day. And yes, he's in band, playing the trumpet. He does so with gusto and fairly consistent skill, given that it's just his first year.

If he can just survive until next weekend, things finally begin to level off. No more track or soccer, just hockey and tennis.

If you remember last year's post about this time, he placed 5th in the standing broad jump (6'8") and 5th in the fifty-yard dash (8.12) in the track meet, which as kids from 20+ schools. This was as a fifth grader in the fifth/sixth grade division.

What a difference a year makes.

This year, he's jumped 7'1" and run the fifty in 7.54. Both of those would have won his events last year, so he's hoping that he has a chance to win. Plus he could place in the hundred yard dash as well, and his 4x100 relay team has run faster than the winning time last year.

So it could be a big weekend for him, but it's different. Track isn't a sport where he practices regularly--he mostly just shows up and runs--so he doesn't have experience and preparation to draw upon. We worked on his start, and I explain what I can, but there just hasn't been enough time to be thorough, which is unlike how he (and I) usually approach things.

In his favor, though, very few kids his age are serious about track. It's a loosely organized spring sport, and most of the kids he's running against don't have any more experience than he does. And also in his favor, he had certainly handled enough pressure in other sports where he might benefit here.

His soccer team is 4-1-2 now. They've tied their last two games, one without Eli (sick), and the game today without their goalie (also sick). But they're still in second place in their league, so they have a chance in the tournament (they have a chance to lose in the first round, too--it's a tough, close league).

Meanwhile, I just try to hang on until all this settles down. There's so much going on that it's hard to get my own workouts in, although "Ginsburging" is now a thing in our house.


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