Something miraculous has happened this week.
Youth sports actually made a comeback. We had a youth sporting event. In public. With other people.
Never, did I thought that anything like a youth sporting event would bring such excitement. But 2020 is full of surprises, isn't it?
The Coast Guard base here announced that they were "allowing" a youth soccer camp for just a handful of kids for four days. Signups were open and they were going to fill up fast of course, because the entire island is so starved of any type of organized sports. I was out the door and in the car to base faster than you can say "pandemic". When I came home excitedly announcing to both boys that they were going to play soccer for four days each, they both stared at me like I had announced that we were serving liver and broccoli for dinner.
".......soccer?" Camden asked in disgust. "That's not hockey."
To which I replied that six months of no organized sports and at only $10 per kid, I don't care if it's underwater potato golf, you're going to play it. And you'll like it!!
Besides, it counts as PE class.
Camden's age group was first. He got a shirt and his own soccer ball which was more than I expected. Of course it's 2020, and he had to get his temperature taken at sign in ("What's that for? This is weird.") and then asked all sorts of "have you had a fever"/"have you been around someone with a fever"/"Do you think you'll catch a fever today" questions before they're allowed on the field. But whatever, it's organized sports and we'll jump through whatever hoops necessary.
The soccer camp was great. They are separated into four "teams", and move about at four different stations learning skills. Then they do a little two team scrimmage at the end. Despite his grumbling before the first day of camp, Camden has been beaming over how FUN he was having at camp. He's not bad at it (his hockey skills transfer over easily to soccer) and how he couldn't wait for next week's camp. Over all, it was a runaway success.
And how could it not be, when you're so starved for organized sports?! I've never been so excited to sit outside for two hours and watch a bunch of 9 year olds and chat with more than one adult at the same time in my life.
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