While in high school, I 'umped' T-ball one year (and got paid $1.25 per hour as a groundskeeper') and coached a team the next season. What fun! (even if some parents had to be reminded often that I was there, unpaid, and didn't have a kid on the field - my little brother played on another team).

Thanks to all!

BTW: This is my 2nd marriage! The first one lasted 17 years, with 4 children, Korean War Service, the majority of my start in Police work and SF service. :)

In a word...no wait...three words
 

¡Chilaquiles and coffee!

(Photo taken at the Omelette and Waffle Shop in San Pedro, California)

Ran across a FULL ammo can of 30 cal in the shop that I had forgotten I had...:p

Finishing loadouts for the annual getaway.
For the 3 of us bringing equipment, there are 13 guns and not quite 2k rounds of ammo.
(More guns are being left behind than brought.)

Beer reserves proved excessive last year.
We all had our fill and yet felt obligated to consume more so it wouldn't go to waste.
There was still some left over. :(
(Note to self: start drinking earlier in the day...)

Majority of rations are being prepared right now.
A microwave in a motorhome sure does make camping easy.

Water and propane reserves proved not to be a problem last year.
Generator ran for 30-40 hrs, pushing one or both A/C's much of the time.
Only burned 4 gallons of a 16 gallon tank.
Should be enough water for everyone to shower once.


Remember waking up drunk in the rain at about 9000 ft some 17 years ago, and rucking everything (including water) up steep slopes at even higher altitude.
This is definitely a better way of doing it. :D

We elected to move my son up an age division early for soccer as he was already outscoring the other team on his own. His coach recommended he try out for the travel/development team.

My son is 6 and was the smallest kid on the field; some of the kids trying out on the same field were 10 (the tryouts were combined for U8,U9 and U10), and my son was still scoring goals and mixing it up with the bigger kids!:lifter He will be the youngest player on his U8 team.

Doc,

That is awesome!!! Good parenting=good outcome for children!:lifter

Wish him the best of luck!

Holly

POD,I know exactly where you're coming from,I had that decision with my 3 boys..... I had them on hockey skates when they were 2 years old and they always played above their division level and made the travel team easy enough........I think its great that he's playing above his level and good luck and hope he makes the travel team.....;) BTW Echoes 100% right...;)

Big Teddy :munchin

My parents inbound from Missouri. 18 months without seeing them, and always good for them to see their youngest off before another government sponsored trip. :D

Travel teams can be awesome. Make sure you are ready for the $ and time commitment. Can you say "Mouse Races"? :D Here., we call it "select" and it can be tough on parents.
Another thing to think about is what is the desired final outcome. What sold me on our team was the involvement of the High School coaching staff. They see this as their farm system. I like that they are looking for 8 YOs to help take State 10 years from now. They are committed to a long term relationship with the kids. the tryouts wore me out, but Little Dude took it all in stride.

I hope your little dude has fun. (oh yeah, burn out is a real risk, Mom and Dad are the first line iof defense, there.)

You gotta love Jersey !!!!

Finished sorting and rating over 1000 wedding photos today. Huge weight off my shoulders. :lifter

Lots of good images to edit and turn into a book. Today was a good day. :)

Thanks all for the thumbs up everyone. When we were offered a chance for the tryout we sat with our son and talked about the commitment and sacrifices (sometimes a boy just wants to play with his friends on the street), as well as the size and age differences he will have with his teammates. He took a day to process everything, asked a few good questions and told us he wanted to give it a shot.

They have a whole development program for kids who show promise in our district including professional coaches. The coach for my son's team (he made the team!) told me the focus for this age group was fundamentals and basic strategy - not game outcomes. I was sold. We elected not to send him to the British or Brazilian day camps in our area over the summer - he has plenty of other activities he'd like to do before starting the season to include learning to use his new fishing pole, going for a few primitive camping trips with his old man and his uncle, and continuing to work on basic maksmanship with his bb gun in our backyard.

As far as the cost - we are aware and I am more than happy to go without a few nights out to blow off steam to support my son's interest in a sport that has brought me a lifetime of enjoyment and healthy behaviors.

He's still as excited about making the team as I am proud of him. He knows we are happy to let him explore other activities if he decides soccer is not for him after this season. He's been blessed with a lot of natural athletic talent and we want to help him find an activity that suits his strengths for which he develops passion.

Congrats!
PM inbound.


What position does your son like?
Get yourself this:
http://www.soccervideos.com/store/7126.html

Doc, one last thought / experience I'll share. Little Dude plays in two leagues -- Select and Regular Little League. Reason being is his school and neighborhood buddies all play LL. He "works" Select and "plays" LL. Also, since Select is machine pitch (he is a Short Stop) LL-- kid pitch, is where he like to play catcher. Oh and after LL games mom's provide cupcakes. Congratulations to you and your son.