Harper – Last weekend, Harper’s VYS Team played in a single elimination tournament. They were a great team all season in the number one slot, only having lost one game. The morning of the tourney was cool, a few occasional sprinkles, but overall a nice day.
Harper wanted it; she was hungry the whole game and her passing and footwork were on point. She scored the only goal for her team; the moment was electrifying. They were prepared for penalty kicks unlike last Fall when the game tie resulted in penalty kicks. Their practice paid off and they won in the penalty round advancing them to the game championship! Harper had a great penalty shot and I was so proud of her.
Game 2 Harper again was hungry. Annie’s mom was behind us and we continually heard her say after Harper’s plays “I could watch her play all day long.” She was on fire! They were down 0-1 almost the entire game. They had a few shots on goals, none of which went in. With only about two minutes left in the game, Harper made a ridiculous kick from the side of the goal and scored to tie the game 1-1. It came down to penalty kicks again. Harper had a great kick in the air, which the goalie caught in the nose. I happened to have it on video and while we felt bad for the girl, we may have watched the replay of the ball to the nose several times with painful commentary each time. The girls were overjoyed with the win! They played hard all season, both games, and it was an awesome end to the season.
Avery – Avery had been talking about wanting to get her ears pierced for at least a year since Emerson had hers done last September. She wanted them pierced, at the same time, she wasn’t ready. After talking about whether she was ready for it or not on a daily basis the last month, she finally mentally convinced herself she was. I made the appointment only the night before as we couldn’t allow too much time between making her decision and the appointment so she wouldn’t change her mind.
We turned it into a date night, going to Silver Diner first for dinner. She ordered pancakes with bacon and an oreo shake, which she excitedly shared with me. What impressed me most about our dinner experience was how darn polite she was. Her “thank you’s” to wait staff are so confident and sincere. A manager who must have overheard as he was walking bye, even stopped to compliment Avery on how polite she was, to which she said a loud confident “THANK YOU”.
She remained calm and composed about getting her ears pierced the entire evening, from dinner to the car ride to the waiting time at Craig Pokes You. We were hoping for two piercers; however, only one was available and she not only handled the news like a champ, but also the actual piercing one at a time. Amy, the piercer, was great…talking through every step along the way. Avery was so calm and poised that I even took a video of the second piercing as I wanted Avery to remember her composure and bravery. She came home proud to show off her studs!
Emerson – Emerson made VGSL All Stars a second year in a row. Her team played down for the tourney at the 10U level. They practiced all week and really gelled as a team. Her team dominated their two games on Saturday and the first two games Sunday. They made it all the way to the championship where they played the other Vienna All Star Team. While they were ahead most the game, they let a bunch of runs come in one inning and were down by 2 in the last inning. Emerson was first to hit and nailed an incredible double into left center over the outfielders head to start the inning off. Her team ended up tying the score back up. In the extra innings, bats were alive on both teams, but in the end the girls couldn’t pull it off and lost by one. Emerson was actually the last batter and struck out to her disappointment as there was a runner on third and a little hit would have tied the game again. I reassured her she did not lose the game for her team…and that is the truth!
Emerson had a strong weekend. She hit two solid singles…one shortstop area and one straight up the middle. She had two legit doubles into the outfield. And she had an amazing double play while playing first. The runner was going home so after getting the girl out at first, she threw home and catcher made the tag. The girls were disappointed with the 2nd place finish, understandably so. The girls played their hearts out over the weekend and it was awesome to watch. Emerson’s bat came alive this weekend and man was I proud.
Each of these events left me invigorated for days!!