Spring Sporty Pants Asher

Our Asher is a sports nut.  All around.  He loves any sport, he loves to watch any sport, play any sport.  He loves it all.  This spring was, as always, super busy for us with Asher playing both soccer and baseball, and Beck playing soccer and basketball.  It was a mess, really.  But, we got through it with the whole 'divide and conquer' technique that so many of us parents are forced to use.  I love watching these boys though.  So much fun.  Business aside, it really is a great way to spend a Saturday.  Or a Wednesday.  Or a Thursday.  Okay, so practice and game days have no bounds, but our weeks were busy but fun.  There were lots of meals on the go, snacks in my bag, chairs in the car, and a pack of water bottles in the back of the car (which we depleted and replaced...twice).  With a new baby and my health problems I've been dealing with, I was leery if not downright nervous going into this all, but it was probably a saving grace in the end.  And Dawson, it turns out, loves his car seat so he was a happy camper even though he spent oodles of time in transit to this game or that practice.

 

Asher played on an 'Extra' team with soccer this year, which is a competitive team within the league.  Their team, the Earthquakes, played in a few tournaments and did well in those.  Asher wanted to try his hand at Goalkeeper this year, and mostly split his time between that and defensive half back.  He did well at both and learned some new skills.  In my opinion, one of his best skills is his speed.  He whizzes past kids who are much bigger than him. He is also an excellent team player.  He is positive, builds up the other players on the team and never has a negative word to spare.  It's kind of an awesome trait to have and I love to watch him using it.  As a mom, I am proud, because even if they didn't win the game, my boy wins every time.   Overall, this year was rough and his team won only a handful of games, but they were well matched and often only lost by a smidge after playing their hearts out.  It was a fun year with a great coach and a nice bunch of parents.

Baseball started up a few weeks after soccer.  Asher played on a kid-pitch team this year, which left me fearing for his life as he was hit with a pitch during several different games.  It's just scary business when a bunch of 9 and 10 year olds are learning how to pitch which means throwing balls crazily towards a kids abdominal region.  It's frightening, really.  But, Asher loves it and when he's not playing on the field, he's playing in the backyard with his brother (and gently wearing at my grass which will soon resemble a baseball field, but that's another story!).  He's been playing 3rd base and right field for the most part, although he really really wants to try out pitching (probably wants to get back at those kids that keep on hitting him, ha!).  He's loving it, and his team, the A's, are actually pretty good!  Asher's had some good hits and plays so far this season.  Again, he's a great sport and always gets his team to cheer on the other players at bat with a good old, "here we go----, here we go!!"  When they start doing it, I always know Asher's the initiator.  It's great, and makes me smile.