Another day, more games, more frustration. It's tough watching the girls not doing their best, but there's something admirable in their effort, no doubt.
Orlando 3
volleyball
Orlando 2
Day 2 in Orlando didn't go quite as well as day 1. We have two more days, but the girls have a bit of a hole to dig about out of tomorrow. The girls are capable of it. It's really just more of a question of will, perhaps. Or maybe there's more going on.
Orlando 1
Today was a mixed bag for the girls in their first days at nationals. They lost two and won one, but they should really be able to compete with a lot of the teams here. They didn't get their butts kicked: instead, they got outplayed a little and kicked their own butts with silly errors that gave their opponents too many free gifts.
The Girl got some really big hits, and she got at least one monster hit that shot like a bullet to the back corner, the sound of the contact still echoing when the ball hit the court. It was a great hit.
The Boy discovered the joys of riding up an escalator and back down and back up and back down and back up and back down.
Spartanburg Tournament Day 2
Yesterday was tough; today was a little better. At least they won a set. "Look at this way," said a friend, "it can only get better."
Losing builds character, but I think we've built enough character this week.
10
The Boy -- 10 years old today. A decade of the Boy. Double digits.
In the morning, we had his breakfast of choice: bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls. Healthy choices. In the evening, dinner too was his choice: crab legs and shrimp.
After cheese cake and ice cream, he and I went to the local guitar store to spend all his present money in one shot:
A third guitar -- a bass.
The Girl and I spent the afternoon at a tournament only half an hour away -- quite a change.
She'd probably rather not talk about that, though. Let's just say it didn't go as well as the team was hoping.
Previous Years
Happy Mess Day
Second Time Around
Third Party
Celebration Day
Birthday
Fifth Birthday Party
Sports and Ice Cream
Seventh Birthday
Day 60: Eighth Birthday
Nine
Caving and Volleyball
The Boy and I went on a one-of-a-kind Scouting adventure this weekend: we spent the evening rambling around an enormous cave system, then spent the night in said cave.
We all met in the parking lot around six, gear in hand, all excited, with the adults (well, speaking for myself anyway) a little anxious about how all the details might work out.
Our first stop -- our camp location. It was an enormous room, with a relatively high ceiling and a length probably five times or more its width.
After we dropped off our belongings, it was time to explore. We had what's called a wild tour, which mean we got to go to places most tourists don't see and crawl through passages and openings that left us covered in clay and dirt.
Finally, it was bedtime. It was then that the fun began: the echoing snores; the footfalls that reverberated throughout the cave as people plodded to the bathroom; and a whole host of mysterious noises.
We made it out at a little past seven in the morning -- as instructed -- and after breakfast, headed home.
The Girl was in Knoxville, playing volleyball.
Attorney’s Visit, Tournament Start, and Mexican Dinner
Sunday on the Court and Around the House
Successful Saturday
The Boy's soccer team won 2-1 with a literal last-minute goal.
The Girl's volleyball team won all three of their games in straight sets.
A good day in sports for our family.
Atlanta 2022
We spent the weekend in Atlanta — it was, in short, an emotional roller coaster for the girls on L’s volleyball team.
The first day was excruciatingly tough. They lost their first game in straight sets, but it was even more discouraging because they were winning set 2 by 9 (14-5) before ending up losing 19-25. That means the opponents outscored them 20-5 at that point.
The second game didn’t start any better: they lost the first set 13-25. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a tough loss. It prepared them mentally for the loss in the second set 14-25.
By then, they were wasted — done. The third game went down just like the second game: 12-25 and 14-25.
Today, we parents all wondered how things would pan out. I was worried that they might not win a set the whole weekend. The teams at Atlanta were just much stronger, as a whole, than what they were used to. In addition, they were broken mentally. How would it go?
The first game started out just as we feared: they held it together but at 19-19, it seemed like they were falling apart. They pulled it back together, though, and took it into extra points, but they ended up losing 26-24. So close. Set two — would it continue? At one point, they were down 10-16, and I thought, “Well, there’s another one. And if they lose this set, I’m afraid the day is done.” But they kept fighting and ended up taking the set 25-22. They cheered like they’d won a medal.
In the third set, they were tied at 14 and L made a huge hit to put them within one point of winning their first game. But it wasn’t to be: the opponents tied it up. The next play, L made another monster kill and they had another game point. Again, they lost the next point. It kept going like this, but the finally managed to convert a set point, winning 21-19. It was as if they’d won gold in the Olympics.
The final game of the day followed the same pattern. They lost the first set 20-25 but tied it the second set after almost letting a 23-19 lead slip through their fingers: they won 25-24. And finally, in the third set, they dominated: 15-6.