My Little Champion

Keyra's team had their first tournament this past weekend in Ajax, ON.  This is the first time this season that they were able to play kids their own age.  I really did figure that we would do well overall in the tournament as I have seen some growth in the kids throughout this season.  We started right off first thing in the morning against the Carleton Place Cyclones.  Keyra earned a shutout, but not a win as we tied them 0-0.  Their goalie had a great game too as we had plenty of chances in the third period.  Keyra made some amazing saves late in the game to preserve the tie.  Next up was Leaside.  We beat them 9-3.  They had one little girl who was blazing fast.  She scored 3 goals...all on breakaways.  Keyra also stopped her on several breakaways.  We then played Nepean to round out the preliminary round.  We won this game 7-1.  Keyra really didn't have alot of work and the lone goal scored was a giveaway by her that she just didn't really know what to do with.  It was pretty boring for her back there in that game.  This seeded us in 1st place, and setup a re-match with Leaside.  We beat them this time, 6-1 as our kids really stuck to their one player and pretty much shut her down.  Again, Keyra didn't have a lot of shots in this one, but she was solid when she did.  This setup a re-match with Carleton Place for the championship game.  The girls were really fired up for this one, but I think some of them were nervous.  The Cyclones came out and scored a nice goal within the first 2 minutes and held onto that for the first period.  The fans were pretty noisy and I think that was getting to Keyra a bit.  She just isn't used to that yet.  We scored early in the second period to tie it up.  They recovered the puck on a broken play from our defence and shot it in from centre ice.  Keyra came out to play the puck but slipped as she did.  She ended up kicking the puck right to the Cyclones player which she pocketed into the open net.  I could see that Keyra was really dejected at this point.  We all tried to reassure her.  The third period saw alot of back and forth play early, but we started putting more pressure on them.  They were icing the puck to relieve the pressure several times.  We decided to stack up a line to try to get the tying goal.  We really hemmed them in and had some shots, but couldn't score.  When we put out the next line, we got hemmed in. Keyra made some amazing saves during this barrage.  She stopped a breakaway, then the rebound from the corner, the rebound that came out front, then she dove over to her right, paddle down, and blocked the puck from a sure goal and covered it up.  I was holding my breath the entire time.  She made another stop in the dying seconds and then skated to the bench before overtime started.  They play 4 on 4 for 3 minutes in OT and if no goals, they go to a shootout.  Keyra was crying at this point as the fans were really loud from both sides and I think she was starting to feel pressure.  We all reassured her that she was doing great and to keep it up.  3 minutes is really about 2 lines getting ice time at best, so we stacked up the first foursome.  We needed to change the defence and when we did, the Cyclones created a turnover.  They skated around the defence for a 2 on 0 with about 1:30 to go in OT.  Keyra came right out to cut down the angle and they shot and she stopped it, deflecting the shot to the corner.  Our players came back and gathered the loose puck.  Time ran out and she skated to the bench again.  She was crying again.   I asked her if she knew what a shootout was.  She nodded and shook her head several times.  I explained it to her that it is just like what we do in practice with the girls shooting on her.  She was still crying and saying that she couldn't do it.  Again, we all talked her through it a bit but we didn't know what to expect once we started.  Our shooter and their shooter go at the same time, which really sucks.  I of course, watch their shooter on Keyra, while most people watch our shooter.  The first shooter came down, Keyra skated out to the top of the crease and they shot!  Down in butterfly for a nice save!  Our shooter was denied as well.  2nd shooter came down on the left side on a bit more of an angle, shot, saved again!  I couldn't really see what was going on with our shooter.  It looked like the puck was in, but I wasn't sure.  Finally, one of the girls said it was in and they were cheering.  The 3rd shooter came down and shot, and Keyra made a nice pad save again!  WE WON!!!  Her entire team skated down and mobbed her in the net!  After a season of losing every game to girls 4 years older in some cases, they had won the championship at their first tournament!  It was so hard for me to watch the OT and shootout, but man, am I ever proud of the way Keyra stepped up and did an amazing job!  All of the coaches of this team deserve a round of applause for the hard work and skills that we are teaching these kids.  I can't wait for the next tournament in a month in Kingston.

Here is Keyra with her championship medal.

First Point...no, not that one

It has been a long and trying season for Keyra.  It is frustrating for her, losing every game.  Playing the older, bigger girls, is a real challenge for all of our players.  There have been some games that Keyra stood on her head and really kept it close.  A couple of 3-2 and 4-2 loses in there where she stopped several breakaways.  They really are a couple of bounces away from winning games.  We do get to go to a tournament in Ajax next weekend against Novice girls.  I believe that this is where the first win(s) are coming!  Our kids are getting better every game and if they can put it all together against girls their age and size, I think they have a great shot.  I just bought Keyra some brand new pads as she was growing out of the ones she has been using from the Crunch.
     Anyway, on to the point.  So, yes, no wins, or ties, but Keyra got an assist!  She made a poke check type save and the puck went to the defenceman who then passed it up to our centre and she went in on a breakaway and scored!  I told Ange as the breakaway unfolded, that Keyra gets an assist if this shot goes in, and sure enough, it did.  I had to explain to Keyra after the game that she got an assist.  She had no idea what that meant...lol.  We are all looking forward to the tournament next weekend.  More updates after that one.
     Trinity has been training hard in the gym with mommycoach.  Her competition season doesn't happen until after the new year, so it is all refinement at this point.  Christmas is coming fast, so I am sure we will be dirt poor for the next while with xmas parties and shopping and such.

Hockey update

The novice Napanee Crunch had 2 exhibition games against teams from the Atom house league in Kingston.  The older kids definitely showed that experience is paramount as the scores were a blowout.  Keyra played very well, but she had a ton of shots, and high quality shots.  It will definitely benefit her over the course of the year. 

They girls on her team are ranging from 5-8 and some that have never played hockey before.  Being in a small town means that when you have tryouts for a rep team, sometimes, you end up taking everyone that comes out.  That was the case with us this year as we would not have had enough girls to make a team otherwise.  Since we are a rep team, and we will be using alot more ice time that the Kingston house league teams, we are now playing up a level against 9-10 year olds.  That is just for league play.  When we go to tournaments, we will play at the Novice level.

We had out first 2 regular season games this past weekend.  The first game was awesome.  I really thought we might pull off a win.  Keyra was unbelievable in the goal that game.  We lost 3-2, but that score was kept that close because of her strong play.  She had a ton of shots and some really awesome saves!  Most of the game was played in our end.  The 2nd game, Keyra was awesome again.  The other team had 2 star players that completely dominated the play.  They were able to deke around our defence and shoot at will.  The final score was 6-0 and those 2 girls got all of their goals.  Keyra made some awesome saves in the game, but we had only 1 shot on goal the other way.  It could be an up and down year for our team against these older girls, but I think the gap might be alot closer by the end of the season.  The extra ice time that our girls are getting is going to payoff long term.

In other news, Trinity is hard at work training for the up coming gymnastics season.  She just got her Kip the other day, which was the main requirement to jumping up 2 levels under the Gymnastics Ontario system.  Now that she has gotten that, and is consistent, she is getting all of her routines reworked to reflect the new requirements.  It is so nice that she is back to getting great coaching and is getting challenged on a regular basis. 

Last bit of summer, now on to fall...and hockey!

Ball season is all done for Keyra's team.  She learned a lot this year and hopefully, she can build on it for next year.  They spent some weeks and weekends at each of the grandparent's houses, and a weekend with Aunt Lily.  It was a very busy summer for sure.

We picked them up at Grandma "in Australia's" house(in Gatineau), on the long weekend in August.  While we were up there, we went to the Ottawa Aviation and Space Museum to see the Star Wars:  Identities exhibit.  We all had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Here is Keyra with C3PO and R2D2.

Trinity and Keyra with Master Yoda.

Our family created characters at the end of the tour.  Keyra chose the dark side.

As part of the admission for Identities, you got free admission to the aircraft hanger.  So we went through that as well.  They had a mock mars life pod setup for the kids to run around in.

They also had a cut-away cockpit from a CF-18 Super Hornet.  This is where I found out that I am too tall, or have legs that are too long, to be a fighter pilot.  The girls had lots of room though.

Ange was away for a workation in Hartford, CT for the US National Gymnastics Championships, so I took the girls to Old Fort Henry for a day.
Here, they are posing on one of the giant canons.

They also got to train to be British soldiers.

Hockey season has now started for Keyra, and both girls are well into gymnastics season.  Keyra will be the goalie for the Novice, Napanee Crunch team this year.  Games should start happening near the end of September, so more updates to follow around then.

Busy Summer...

We have been going non stop this summer.  Lots of ball...pretty much every night...unless it rains.  Trinity has been playing house league.  It not great ball, but she seems to be having fun.   2 games ago, she got walked, then moved to 2nd.  A kid hit a ball to the outfield and she rounded 3rd to head for home.  The catcher was out blocking the plate before the ball got there, and when it did, Trinity barrelled into him, knocking the ball loose.  She then got up and touched home!  I wish I could have seen it, but I was out coaching Keyra that same night.  I am sure it will be the highlight of her season!  She got plunked in her 2 at bats the next game.
Keyra had her first real tournament this past weekend.  Most of the kids on her team are 6-7 years old with a few 8 year olds and 1 9 year old.  This tournament had mostly 9-10 year old teams, so we knew we were going to lose.  Over the course of the day, the kids were improving though, and I think it was a valuable learning experience for them.  They got to run around in the hotel all night while the dads all had a few pints, so it was a good weekend nonetheless.  We went to the Toronto Metro Zoo the following day.  It was 42 degrees with the humidity, so it was pretty damn hot.  The Pandas are the big draw there right now, so we got there for opening, and went straight to the exhibit.  Pandas are from a cool climate at the base of the Himalayas in China, so this heat was really unbearable for them.  They were pretty much just laying around.  We did see lots of animals up and about though.  The Sumatran Tiger was destroying this plastic/rubber toy that was hanging from a pole, so that was fun to watch.  We were done the zoo by 2:30 and on our way home to rest.
Last night, Keyra had another ball game against the boys Jr. Mite team.  I was able to fix Keyra's throwing, after much of the season being frustrated by it.  Now, she has a canon!  Something seemed to have clicked for her last night, as she was on fire.  She made a diving grab at a ground ball that was destined to be an in the park homerun, and she then threw the ball...from her bum...to 2nd base for an out!  I was SO proud!!!  She also had a good hit in the game, and was making some really good plays in the field.  There is only about 3 weeks left in the season, so hopefully she can carry last night's performance through the rest of the season.

Maybe a losing battle

I jokingly call it fighting the gymnastics bug in my household.  Keyra just seems to be one of those kids that can pick up anything and be good at it.  She hasn't had the time in the gym that Trinity had at this age, but she has a natural knack for it.  She is doing well with ball, and she is doing really well with playing goalie.  Doing gymnastics, although helpful overall for flexibility, strength and body awareness, will limit the time spent on doing other things.  She wasn't really able to do the competitive stream at the Kingston Club as it would have put us firmly into the poor house.  So, with the less expensive hometown club, she is able to get in there now.  They had a demo last weekend to show off some of the skills learned over the course of the year.  She was able to join in, even though she was only there for 1 week.  The Napanee Beaver photographer was there and snapped a great picture of Keyra doing a straddle jump off of a mini-trampoline.  Here it is:

I am not sure if I am going to "win" this battle, but we will see where her heart lies and let her decide.  She has real natural ability in goal as well, so I would hate to see her give that up too.  Hopefully, we can make something work.

Last meet of the season

Trinity had her last meet of the season this past weekend, in Oshawa, Ontario.  She had a great meet.  It was a huge category, with 30 kids.  She took bronze on bars and beam, which gave her a Silver all-round.  A very nice finish for her last meet.  She worked hard on bars to overcome some problems early in the season. She also worked hard on her floor routine to fix some things that were lacking and costing her valuable points.  She now starts at a new club, with a new coach(mommy), and new teammates.

Game 2

Keyra had her 2nd game of the year last night.  They played one of the house league teams.  It was pretty rough.  Our girls have been practicing outside for a month, and in the gym for almost 5.  The house leagues are usually a call the week of the game to let you know when and where it is.  They really don't practice.  Keyra went 2 for 3 and made a nice play a shortstop.  Another practice for her tonight, before we head to Oshawa tomorrow for Trinity's last meet of the season.  The Kingston Gymnastics Club, had a sort of going away party for Trinity and Ange last night.  I guess it was quite tearful....girls...lol.  They both start at the new club on Monday.

First Game Jitters

Keyra had her first game tonight for the Napanee Express Jr. Mite Girls.  They played against the Jr. Mite Boys team.  Softball Canada has changed the entire grass roots program for softball and has the starting ages being pitched to by the coaches.  The thought is, that the kids will get pitches to hit and the kids in the field will get more action as well.  I believe that they are bang on with it so far.  The pitching at this age is very sporadic.  So, you will see a lot of walks if the pitcher can't get it across the strike zone consistently, or a lot of strike outs if the pitcher is really good.  Either way, the kids are bored out of their minds in the field.  The directive is to not keep score as well.  However, almost every kid on the team asked me at least once, what the score was.  The kids are competitive, and I think we need to embrace that.
Her team has been practicing twice a week for a month, on top of the once a week throughout the winter in the gymnasium of a local school.  Keyra was telling me she was nervous, on the way to the park.  She settled into the game quickly.  She played in the outfield for the game and had a couple of ground balls to play and throw back  in.  She went 3 for 3 at the plate with one hit that could have been a double, but we are just happy to get the girls on first base at this point.  With the ages ranging from 9 down to 5, its an interesting mix.  They have already started the chants from the bench, which Keyra is thoroughly enjoying.

Pickering meet down, 1 to go

Trinity competed at the Pickering Athletic Centre gymnastics meet this weekend.  She started on Vault, which she got 5th place.  She takes a .5 deduction before even started due to using a tramp board instead of a beat board, so that extra half a point would have been huge.  From there, she went to bars.  She has a nice and tight bar routine and she came away with a Silver medal for it!  She struggled on beam, having a big wobble and a fall, and wound up in tenth.  Her floor routine has come along way this year, and she has worked very hard at it.  She was rewarded with a Silver medal there.  She took 6th all round, but would have been 2nd if not for the fall on beam.  So, a good meet for her, near the end of the season.  Gemini, in Oshawa is next weekend, where last year, she took home 3 golds and 2 silvers for her efforts.  That will be her last meet of the season and her last with the Kingston Gymnastics Club.  She will be joining the Napanee club, along with Ange, as of next Monday.

The Home Stretch

With 2 gymnastics meets left for the year, we are finally on the home stretch...at least for Trinity's sports.  We are in Pickering this weekend, she competes at 7:30am on Sunday and then she competes on Friday in Oshawa.  After those meets, Ange and Trinity will be switching gymnastics clubs.  It is a welcomed change, as the everyday travel is taking its toll.
Keyra is well into practices for baseball, and her first games are next week.  Its going to be a long summer of ball parks for me, as she is on the diamond 3 times a week, most weeks.  On top of that, I have my games, and then I also will be umpiring games in there as well.

No updates

I really have to start updating this more regular.  Life is just so busy.  It was a long winter of hockey and gymnastics.  Keyra's first season of Tyke hockey went very well.  She wasn't really taking to playing as a skater, so when no other kids wanted to play goalie, she volunteered.  I am a goalie, also, so I have been able to teach her things pretty well.  It is amazing how quickly she is picking this stuff up.  She progressed to the point that the Napanee Crunch invited her to come out to the last 3 practices of their season.  She impressed them with her play and pretty much stopped everything shot at her.  So, she is their new goalie for next year. 
Trinity is right smack in the middle of gymnastics season.  Her first meet was a rough one as she was struggling with going to the high bar.  She had a good 2 months off after that meet, and her hard work paid off at the Tumblers meet where she took silver on bars and 3rd all round.  At the end of the meet, we ended up having to call an ambulance for Keyra, as she had an allergic reaction to something that she ate.  The had to have a shot of Benadryl in the ambulance, and then a shot of Epinephrine on the way to CHEO.  After a 6 hour stay for observation, we were discharged with no answers until seeing an Allergist. 
     Trinity then competed the following weekend at Burlington, in one of the biggest gym meets in Canada.  She got a bunch of 7th and 8th place ribbons there.
     Keyra has now started softball.  The Napanee Express team is now formed and almost ready for the season.  They are looking at a couple of development tournaments near Toronto, so that could be fun.  She is really come a long way over the winter with the clinics that were held weekly in a gymnasium.  She is hitting and throwing so much better now.
     So that is my update in a nutshell.  Hopefully, I won't wait another 6 months for the next one.