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Returning Slowly

Sunday 21 January 2024

Things are returning to normal. The Girl’s GI issues seem to be slowly diminishing, and the Boy seems in better spirits.

Babcia is, as always, Babcia: always (almost) happy and smiling (until she gets to talking about Polish politics — don’t get her talking about politics).

After a good breakfast, L and I headed to Rock Hill for the second day of the weekend’s tournament. The Girl helped out with warmups and was the biggest cheerleader on the bench.

Their team made it to the final in the gold bracket — meaning in essence, the final for the whole tournament for their age bracket — and it was against another team from the same volleyball club. Since it, too, has a strong religious foundation (like last year’s team, but this club seems to be less interested in meddling in the private lives of the coaches like last year’s team, which fired the Girl’s team’s coaches — in the middle of the season — because they were living together out of wedlock — the shame!), the two teams circled up and prayed before the game.

This team has beaten the Girl’s team badly once this year, but they were confident. Still, they’re kind of a family, I think: instead of simply giving each other low fives under the net, they popped onto the same side as our girls and there were hugs all around.

Our girls jumped out to an early lead in the first set and won it 25-21. The second set was a different story. They trailed by two for most of the set, but suddenly, it was 13-17. Then 13-18. And then 13-19. In the end, the lost 16-25.

The third and deciding set (which is only to 15) they were neck and neck until it was 8-8. Then three quick mistakes and they were down 8-11. Then 8-12. I was pretty sure it was over, the they rallied and evened the score at 13. They were up 14-13 when one of the other team’s hitters blasted a shot that was initially called out. Our girls celebrated; the parents were screaming. And then the call was reversed: there had been a touch on the block. 14-14. And how did it end? The girls rallied again and won 16-14:

And afterward — a group picture with both teams.

K, the Boy, and Babcia, meanwhile, were having a fine day as well.

After church, they went to a relatively new cafe: Old Europe Cafe. The consensus among the Polish community: a nice cafe with a real Krakow-cafe feel.

Afterward, a walk in our lovely Falls Park.

In the evening, the Boy and I played cars a while — again. Just like old times.

Basketball

Wednesday 17 January 2024

The Boy’s team is in the midst running drills when I walk in. They’re going one-on-one from the top of the key. When it’s his turn to take the offensive drill, he dribbles in, picks up the ball quite far from the basket, and tries to lob it over the defender. An air ball. And I can see the disappointment and disgust in his face.

He heads back to the backcourt line (I think that’s what it’s called) and stands in line for his next turn, but he seems to let anyone in front of him who wants to take an earlier turn. And there are plenty who want to.

Eventually, he drifts into the background as others excitedly take their turns, and he ends up leaning against the wall and watching the others. He pulls on his hoodie and sits down.

Later, when they’re scrimmaging, he does the best he can with the knowledge he has, but the truth is, we never watch basketball so he’s got nothing to imitate. And I really know very little about the sport, so I’m of little help to him. He does his best, but it’s clear the other boys have had lots of experience playing basketball in their neighborhood.

“I never get passes,” he’ll say later in the car. “Because I’m just not as good as they are.” All he sees are his deficits, and the lack of inclusion from other boys confirms it in his mind. When he does get a pass, it’s like he wants to get it out of his hands as fast as possible.

It’s tough to watch: I can certainly relate. I was never that confident when I found myself playing basketball, and I hated playing with those who were much better. I, too, felt I was out of my comfort zone.

But the Boy soldiers through, going to each practice, giving it his best show.

“I admire you for that, buddy,” I tell him on the way home.

“Thank you,” he says, then adds after a moment, “I don’t think basketball is for me.”

Saturday’s Adventures

Saturday 6 January 2024

On the way to the basketball game, the Boy makes a comment about how many churches are around, and then turns the discussion to religion, remarking that Jesus has been dead 2000 years and has still not returned.

“Two thousand years is a long time,” he suggests.

I simply agree.

He continues: “How do we even know that all that stuff happened?”

“What do you think?” again trying to remain non-committal.

“Well, they say they were there,” he suggests.

“How do we know that?”

“Because that’s what they wrote.” He stops to think about it for a moment and then asks, “But how do we know those documents are authentic?”

The short answer is, we don’t. The Gospels, despite the purported authorship the Bible affixes to them, are anonymous. Those names — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — appear only in documents from the third or fourth century if memory serves. But I say none of this. Instead, I simply respond, “That’s a very good question. What do you think?”

“Well, all the Christian scientists trying to prove that are biased. They want to prove it.”

For a moment, I think, “Wait, how did we get onto the topic of Christian Science, but I realize quickly what he means: he’s referring to apologists and Christian New Testament scholars who consistently make the arguments that support Christianity, explaining away the problems like the one of the gospels’ anonymous authorship. But his point is very salient: apologists are indeed biased. They are not seeking truth as much as seeking ways to buttress Christian belief, and many skeptics suggest that apologists are almost exclusively preaching to the choir, so to speak, giving believers answers to questions they might have rather than providing skeptics with evidence to overcome their skepticism.

These are all very good questions that will lead to some answers that might lead the Boy away from church teaching, but I am trying my best not to provide any answers.

We get to the game and immediately see what we’re up against: a bunch of guys eighth graders who are enormous and merciless. They tower over most of our boys.

Their brutality comes from the coach down: They begin applying full-court pressure in the second half when they already have a significant, and they would only begin doing that (I think) because their coach has instructed them to do so. Every time the opposition scores, the coach whoops and hollers like it’s the greatest comeback in history. The final score is 13-22, and I hear the say to his team, “That was okay, but you missed a lot of easy baskets.” Translation: “You beat them badly, but you should have beaten the —- out of them.” At least that’s how I interpreted it as an objective observer…

Game 2

Saturday 16 December 2023

The Boy’s team is now 0-2, a depressing start.

Today’s game was rough: it wasn’t that we were outplayed, but none of the boys could buy a basket.

Basketball 2023

Tuesday 12 December 2023

Cheering for my students — few things are better.

Soccer

Saturday 11 November 2023

Today was the first day of the end-of-the-season tournament for E’s soccer team. He didn’t participate last year because his team didn’t participate: it’s an additional event, with additional fees.

We went into the first game hopeful: the boys had beaten them a couple of times in scrimmages, but this, I believe, was the first time they played an actual game. It was tied 2-2 when the referee made an awful call, calling a foul on our goalie when it was clearly a legal play. He’d dropped to the ground to reach out and stop the ball, and the attacker fell on him. How that was a foul I’ll never know. No one will ever know. But the ref awarded the other team a penalty kick, and that put them over: our boys lost 2-3. Technically, they didn’t. But technically doesn’t count.

The Boy was devastated. For the first time this year, he was on the verge of tears about the game. “We tied them!” he insisted, and I agreed. Still, what’s done is done: refs make awful calls all the time.

The boys’ second game went much better, with a stunning 6-1 win. They’d played that team twice before, beating them both times. So we go into tomorrow’s games 1-1. We’ll see how it goes.

Basketball Practice

Wednesday 1 November 2023

The Boy is playing basketball with his church team again this winter. This year, he moves up into a much wider age bracket — middle school players. So there’s up to a two-year difference between the boys on the team.

He looks much better than he did this time last year, but he’s still unsure of where to go, what to do — how to play the game. The other boys are aware of his inexperience as well: there’s a wide range of skill levels on the team. And of course, the Boy is aware that they are aware. I find myself wondering how this affects his self-confidence in the game. He said nothing about it on the drive back home this evening, and that’s a good sign. Still, we have to start going back to the Y for practice again.

Playoffs, Game 2: The End of the Season

Monday 23 October 2023

The Girl’s volleyball team played in the second round of the division playoffs tonight, facing River Bluff just as they had last year. Last year, the girls won in straight sets, but each set was by the closest margin.

This year, River Bluff jumped out to a 1-8 lead in the first set, and I was afraid it might be one of those nights. However, they fought back and eventually tied it at 13. That means they went on a 12-5 streak. And what did they do after that? They gave up 7 consecutive points, ending up at 13-20 in a heartbeat. This has been the story of this team this year: they pull back and tie a set or they roar ahead and dominate a set, only to give the points back. So they lost the first set 19-25.

The second set they jumped into the lead and held a two-point lead for a long time before River Bluff tied it up at 18. At one point, they were down again, 22-23, but they tied it on a big hit from L. They went on to with the second set 25-23, which is the same score they won their final set against River Bluff last year.

In the third set, it happened: they fell apart and could not pull themselves back together. It was 3-3, and suddenly that transformed into 4-10. Then it was 9-17. They just never managed to keep it together and ended up getting trounced 13-25.

I don’t mind so much when the Girl’s team loses when they just get out-played. I don’t like to see them beat themselves so badly.

Down two sets to one, the girls had to pull it out in the fourth set to send it to a final fifth set. They were doing fine, trading point for point until it was 5-5. But just as happened in the third set, they began playing uncoordinated ball and soon it was 7-13: a 2-8 run. They fought back to make it 18-19, but then they gave back three more points to make it 18-22. In the end, they lost the fourth set 20-25, thus bring their 2023 season to a close.

And in the end, tears. Tears because it was the end of the season, and seven seniors will be leaving this year. Tears because it was the end of the season after a state championship that they were all convinced they could repeat. Tears because of the stress of a whole season and the release when it all comes to an end.

There is a sliver of a silver lining in all this: the Girl desperately needs a break for her ankle to heal some. At least now she’ll get some rest before club season starts. But that’s little consolation when you see your daughter in tears.

But we have a 3-0 sweep and a subsequent state championship from last year to keep in the bank…

Practice

Monday 16 October 2023

August 13, 2020

When the Girl decided she wanted to play volleyball, when she tried out for the team as a sixth grader and didn’t make it, when she became really determined, she’d come ask me, “Padre” (She’d started calling me that by then) “can we go out to the front yard and practice volleyball?” I’d toss her balls, simulate spikes, help her practice running for balls — all the basic skills someone of my eager volleyball means could help with given our lack of a net.

At some point, she asked me for the last time to go help her practice. I didn’t realize it was the last time she would ask me, and to be honest, I don’t know if I even agreed to it. She might have asked, and I might have made some kind of excuse. Or maybe we went and practiced one last time.

She hasn’t asked me to do that in years now. She probably never will again. The last time, passed without knowing, fully past with complete knowledge.

So when the Boy asked if, instead of swimming tonight, we could practice basketball, I agreed. I didn’t really want to: I wanted to get some serious exercise in the pool. But he’s that age: how many more times will he ask? When will be the last time?

Today’s Cheerleaders

Thursday 21 September 2023

The Girl’s varsity team played a big rival tonight. The rumor is, one of the girls on the team is the next Journee, the powerhouse hitter we had last year who was number one in the state and number eleven in the nation. They already beat a team that beat us at a tournament this year, so it was going to be a tight match.

The first two sets, though, we won handily: 25-20 both sets. The third set we jumped out to a big lead only to lose it. The fourth set we jumped out to a big head only to lose it again, but we managed to regain it and win 25-23.

Among those cheering were the girls that came to Mauldin’s summer volleyball camp. They were there to cheer on their instructors/mentors, and boy did they cheer.

Soccer

Saturday 16 September 2023

Victorious

Monday 8 May 2023

Congratulations to our girls’ soccer team, who won the district championship tonight.

Several of my students are on the team, so I had to go watch this — not just our school to cheer but individual students I’ll see in class tomorrow and give high fives.

They went to extra time, scored at 0-0, and they won in the final minute of extra time. In a way, though, I feel awful about it: they didn’t win on a big strike to the corner of the goal. It was a goalie mistake, pure and simple. Almost a beginner’s mistake, I would say. The goal slumped down and began weeping. I felt awful for her: she’s going to feel the whole team did their part, and then she let them down. She’s going to relive the moment endlessly. She’s going to beat herself up over that for weeks. And the team will (and already did) huddle around her and cheer her up, tell her everything is fine — “We did the best we could!” But that won’t help. At least not for a while.

High Jump

Saturday 18 March 2023

The Girl won first place in the high jump today.

First Meet

Saturday 11 March 2023

The Girl had her first meet today. As in, the first meet of her life, not just of the season. It was a monster all-day meet, with 35 schools competing. She took third in the varsity high jump.

Three Pairs of Shoes

Friday 10 March 2023

The Girl has taken up field sports — javelin, discus, shot put (?!), and high jump. Today, here throwing shoes arrived, slick on the bottom to allow for maximum spin.

“Now I have three pairs of shoes to take to meets,” she laughed. That doesn’t count whatever she might wear to the meet.

Game 2

Saturday 25 February 2023

It was a close game, tied 0-0 at halftime and even throughout the vast majority of the second half. And then, with about one minute remaining, the opposing team scored.

It was disappointing, but the boys played well.