And just in case we didn't have enough to do, the next day Taya had a basketball tournament. School sports don't start until 7th grade, so I decided to sign Taya up for volleyball and basketball through community education. This way she could try each sport out and get a taste for them to see if she would be interested in pursuing either as she gets older. Volleyball was pretty easy. The girls practiced Saturday mornings in September and October. Basketball, on the other hand, is proving to be more than I bargained for. Taya is in what is called tournament or traveling basketball. She has practice Saturday mornings and Monday evenings. Then, between November and March, her team is involved in six tournaments around the area from Princeton to Melrose to St. Cloud. Her first tournament was at the Sauk Rapids High School which is, luckily, right down the road from our house. During the tournaments, the girls play three games and play different area teams based on whether they won or lost the previous game.
I was in a few years of volleyball and basketball in high school, but I wasn't very good. In fact, if I remember right, I kind of sucked! But, I still want the girls to experience sports. And although I'm certain neither one of them inherited any athletic abilities from me, who knows, maybe they got some athletic genes from my great-great grandmother?!
I'm really surprised at how competitive the basketball games are! I'm not sure I like that. After all, these girls are just in 6th grade and Taya had never even dribbled a basketball before. And even though she is brand new to the game, Taya tries really hard and continues to say she enjoys it. I hope she realizes that life isn't always about winning or losing, but being a good sport and enjoying the game!
