Visit us at www.besporthappy.com for more info on the 35 sports available for kids in Saratoga ages 3-13. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/besporthappy or join our Be Sport Happy Saratoga Equipment Exchange group on Facebook and exchange used sports equipment with other Saratoga families: www.facebook.com/groups/besporthappy. Also find us at www.healtheconcessions.com and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/healtheconcessions.
Why I love Saratoga so much...on Sunday, my son lost one red winter glove and clip for his jacket. If you know my son, you probably recall seeing these red gloves dangling from his jacket all winter long, whether in school or at the ski mountain or ice rink. We didn't realize that the glove was missing until later on in the evening. Earlier, he had been at the Warming Hut in the Spa Park dying Easter eggs using natural dyes. Yesterday (Monday), I forgot to drive the 20 min th...ere to see if his glove was lost in the snow or left in the building. This morning I remembered the lost glove (because this is what moms do!) and I thought I'd swing by on my way to work. I drove down the dirt road and walked up to the locked building in the middle of the woods (and for those who speedskated there years ago, next to the natural 400 meter oval we used to skate on in the winter), and I peered into the foggy old windows. Much to my delight I saw the red glove and clip lying on top of one of the dozen or so picnic tables in the non-heated locked building. It was the only thing inside the building with any color (the rest of the interior consisted of worn picnic tables and old gray cement). For a moment I thought about how it must have felt to be left behind in this cold, dark building at night and not on my son's jacket in our warm house, and not with it's twin glove that it had been with since I bought these gloves at a kids' consignment sale last year and Santa had brought my son the clips to match. My son's glove!!! I was elated!! I texted my husband to let him know that it was indeed still here but that I had no idea how to get into the locked building to get it! I got back into my car and, just as I decided to head to the park police headquarters, around the corner on the dirt road comes one of the park's maintenance guys in his big truck. I flagged him down, rolled down the window, and told him my story of my son's lost glove on the table inside and how I had no key to get inside. He smiled, told me he had a key, and that he could open it up for just a minute and would have to lock it right back up again. That was perfect, I said! He unlocked the door, and I ran inside, grin on my face, right over to snatch up my son's beautiful, warm, ski glove. I told him "you know, I used to spend a lot of time in this building years ago. I was a speedskater." He said "oh, are you talking about the old 440 oval out there in the grass? I remember that!" "Yes, I said, good memories there and lots of time trying to get warm up here when we weren't down by the ice in our cars". I thanked him for opening up the warming hut and wished him a good day, smiling all the time, holding my son's glove. I think I might even have skipped a bit back to the car, thinking of being a kid there and how my kids are now playing here, and how years ago I probably lost my red glove on the same picnic table and my mom or dad probably drove back to get it!
Visit us at www.besporthappy.com for more info on the 35 sports available for kids in Saratoga ages 3-13. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/besporthappy or join our Be Sport Happy Saratoga Equipment Exchange group on Facebook and exchange used sports equipment with other Saratoga families: www.facebook.com/groups/besporthappy. Also find us at www.healtheconcessions.com and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/healtheconcessions.
0 Comments
I thought I’d take a few minutes to write a short blog post this afternoon as we close out 2014, and look forward to shouting Happy New Year tonight with friends and family. It’s been a great year for our family of six. Along with playing all sorts of sports, we started two companies this year for, and with, our kids, Be Sport Happy and Healthé Concessions. Our goal is to teach our kids how to run a business, while at the same time teaching them that sports and happiness go hand in hand, and healthy foods at the concessions stands are important for kids who participate in organized sports. It will be a journey not a sprint to get these companies profitable, but we are proud of our first six months as an entrepreneurial family. With kids ages 1, 3, 5 and 7, it is going to take some time to get them fully engaged in the family businesses (especially since we do these in the evenings and on weekends, when we have extra time away from our regular daily schedules of school and work). But we have been impressed at what small conversations and little company tasks have brought great excitement to the kids, and we are happy that they are starting to feel a sense of responsibility and ownership in these ventures. This year it was about launching the two brands and getting the legal paperwork, community exposure, and marketing websites up and running. Next year we will focus on product development and sales. We want to thank all of you for joining us on this journey, and we want to wish you all a happy and healthy 2015!!
Visit us at www.besporthappy.com for more info on the 35 sports available for kids in Saratoga ages 3-13. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/besporthappy or join our Be Sport Happy Saratoga Equipment Exchange group on Facebook and exchange used sports equipment with other Saratoga families: www.facebook.com/groups/besporthappy. Also find us at www.healtheconcessions.com and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/healtheconcessions. First off, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is a time for kids to take a day off from organized sports and spend time with family. Often the talk will turn to sports and a recap will be done on the fall season of sports (or the big championship game to come) and the conversation will turn to the winter season. Sports like skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, speedskating, basketball, volleyball, figure skating, indoor soccer, swimming, gymnastics and more. And, often, like today, the talk will be enhanced by the sight of snow-capped mountains, white fields, or snow covered trees. With the return of winter weather, it is a great time to teach your kids a new sport outside. Be it on the ice or on the snow, kids love winter. Parents maybe not so much with all the gear and snow clothes, but I do believe that if parents get out there with the kids on these beautiful winter days to snowshoe, skate, ski or ride, or sled they too might find magic in the winter’s playground. So, after you eat your Thanksgiving meal today, put on your snowclothes and go out for a little play and fun!
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/besporthappy or join our Be Sport Happy Saratoga Equipment Exchange group on Facebook and exchange used sports equipment with other Saratoga families: www.facebook.com/groups/besporthappy. We all know the feeling. At least anyone who is an ex-athlete or former competitor. Playing your rival or rivals away from home. In other words, going on the road to kick some butt on the field. I vaguely remember my first away games in the sport of soccer. Getting in the carpool caravan with my other teammates on the travel team, driving to some nearby city before I could drive or even knew where we were going or how long it took to get there. Being more concerned about who I was sitting next to, how much water I could drink and not get a cramp, or how much time I would have to warmup and stretch before the game started. Worrying less about logistics, gear, statistics, who would play what position on the field. Just wanting to get out there and play. And always hoping there was a snack bar for a little something to give me energy halfway through the game (definitely hoping my parents had some extra cash or had packed some in my bag). Feeling tough. Putting on my new cleats. Or new soccer jersey that the coach had just given us before the game. And waiting for the coach to call my name to let me know in which position I would be starting.
So, how did it come to pass that just this past weekend I ended up carting my oldest daughter, who had just turned seven the week prior, to her first away tournament in the sport of field hockey, where she would play our rival, Shen and some other teams. I’m not sure if I was more excited or she. If she was scared, she certainly played it cool. No fear on her part. A bit of timidness at first trying to get the lay of the land (and finding her Saratoga team in the sea of teams and young girls all in pinnies across the six fields). Definitely a toughness to her, being the youngest on the Saratoga team and playing in her first competitive field hockey game ever. She took to the field with no hesitation and scored two goals right in front of my husband and me and our other three kids against the biggest rival, Shen. I wanted to savor the moment, realizing it was her first away tournament, first goals, first experience of what I hope will be many over the years to come. That’s the tough part, pausing to savor the moment. Because they grow up fast and this is it. Parents always comment on how, in the blink of an eye, their kids have grown up. So true. Hard to believe that just a few years ago we couldn’t even get my daughter to get out on the playing field until the last minute of the soccer game, just before they blew the whistle to end the game. And now she’s commanding a presence on the field, high-fiving her teammates when they score, and waiting impatiently for the breaks to end so she can get back on the field to meet up with the big rival, on away turf, to kick some butt. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/besporthappy or join our Be Sport Happy Saratoga Equipment Exchange group on Facebook and exchange used sports equipment with other Saratoga families: www.facebook.com/groups/besporthappy. The fall season of youth sports has begun! And parents everywhere, just having gotten back into a school routine, are finding their evenings and weekends packed with practices and games. Hours and hours of sports activities fill the calendars of these young kids. So, how committed does my kid have to be? This is a question that I’m certain has just about every answer in the book. And it depends a lot on age, the league, the level of the child, and so on. For this discussion, let's focus on kids ages 3-13 who participate in community sports.
On the one side, some parents will say that if a child signs up for a sport, he or she should be 100% committed to all that is required of the sport. Attend every practice. Attend every game. Buy all of the equipment, mandatory and optional. Ingrain in the child a full appreciation for what it takes to not only be committed to the sport but also to respect the coach’s time and the other players’ time. Bring your all to the field or court or the sports arena. These same parents might feel that attending everything will give their kids an edge when it comes to success and achievement in the sport, practice makes perfect. And they may be somewhat right because practice and play does help with perfecting the sport. On the complete opposite side, some parents will say that the child should decide each night or weekend if he or she wants to go to the practice or the game. The child can instead choose something else that day, equally enticing. Like playing with a friend. Or going somewhere with a sibling. Or even staying home and watching tv or playing on the Kindle Fire. These same parents will say that the child will be happier when he or she has the ability to choose what he or she wants to do. These parents sign up their children with the intent that they will like the sport, will want to play, will ask to go to practices and games, and will make friendships on the field. These parents also have big hopes for the success of their kids, and want them to achieve great things, that hopefully will define their kids in the future. There is less concern over coaches, or teammates, or how the absence of this kid may impact the overall experience for all of the kids who do attend, however there is usually always respect for all involved (or let's hope). I tend to take a somewhat middle ground approach here. I do believe that time is valuable and should be respected for all who volunteer at youth sports. And I do believe that children benefit when they are at practices and games, even if they sometimes think they don’t want to be there that particular day just because something else might be going on. However, as a mother of four kids, and a parent who is trying to juggle sports schedules with my husband, and all other things we have to manage in our already insane lives, I know there are times when it is just not possible to get everyone where they need to go every day. And, for those times, I have learned that the world won’t end if my child is not there. The game will go on. The team will persevere. The coaches will understand. Like when one kid is sick and I can’t get the other kid to practice, as happened tonight. Sports are important, but sometimes we need to take a deep breath, call a time out, and wait for the next opportunity to participate. There is always a next time to be there, on time, with your child ready to play! Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/besporthappy or join our Be Sport Happy Saratoga Equipment Exchange group on Facebook and exchange used sports equipment with other Saratoga families: www.facebook.com/groups/besporthappy. Ever watch a kid swimming in a pool with his or her friends or family? See those smiles? It’s as if everyone has a bathing suit on that says “I’m Swimming Happy”. Being Sport Happy is that simple. It all starts with positive energy and a smile when playing sports. Positive energy is creating a safe, structured, encouraging environment for kids to play. Smiling is easy. Kids love to smile. Parents love it when kids smile. And kids react positively when they see that their parents are smiling. Sports should encourage happy play on the sports field. At very early ages, kids can learn that sports are fun. For kids ages 3-13, there should be less pressure to perform at the highest levels, and more emphasis on the playing aspect. True lessons can be learned about playing well with teammates, playing fair with competitors, listening to the coaches, and embracing the rules of the sport, all while being sport happy. So how do parents create an environment where kids can Be Sport Happy? Parents need to listen to their kids. Ask them what sports they like to play. Suggest new ones. Encourage them to try different sports. Invite their friends to join them. Try the same sports at different ages if there seems to be an indifference. Always teach your children that sports are competitive (because life is too) but that competitions can be fun if everyone plays fairly and with a positive attitude. Tell kids that moving their bodies and trying new things is fun and show them how you, too, try new things every day that make you happy. Brainstorm fun, new ways to make the sport fun. Perhaps a game at the end of practice that uses the same skills but mixes it up a bit. Make sports a family affair. Wear team colors. Think up fun chants. Make up a cool handshake to be used just before the game begins, or at the end. Smiles are contagious. Kids who want to progress into the next level in sports will keep moving forward even with smiles on their faces. Don’t separate fun from progression or seriousness in the sport. Some of the best athletes out there will still tell you they are having fun. Encourage Be Sport Happy behavior and it will catch on!
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/besporthappy or join our Be Sport Happy Saratoga Equipment Exchange group on Facebook and exchange used sports equipment with other Saratoga families: www.facebook.com/groups/besporthappy. Every parent has hopes and dreams for his or her children, and many of those dreams include sports. As moms and dads, we feel excitement for the future as we watch our children take to the fields, step on the ice or enter into the sports arena. My dreams for my almost three year old son flashed by my eyes this past week as I watched a case of severe dehydration cause my son to be unable to walk. As he stood in front of me, arms outstretched and reaching up, legs shaking, physically unable to take a step forward, and asked me to “pick him up”, I wondered what would his life be like if his legs never got back to normal, if he could never kick that soccer ball that I dreamed he would kick next year as he started youth soccer, or if he could never put on his first pair of hockey skates or downhill skis. I was devastated. And to think that a lack of hydration was all to blame. Luckily for me, my son recovered after an ambulance ride and four days in the hospital, including several hours on an IV replenishing his fluids, and now he is back running around as a typical active kid. As parents, we often don’t think of the consequences for our young kids of not drinking water. In my case, it was due to a stomach virus, but in many cases with kids it has to do with youth sports and the lack of consumption of water before, during and after practices and games. I found this article online that gives some guidance as to how much our children should be drinking. Buying them water bottles is a start, but making sure they drink the water in them is critical. A day before my son couldn’t walk, he looked normal. He was active, running around like all the other kids at his school. Next time your child is out there, ask your child if he or she just had a drink of water. Encourage it. Have fun with it. Drink water yourself to set a good example. It will save our kids in youth sports from facing dehydration and all of the health scares that can come when one doesn’t drink water.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/besporthappy or join our Be Sport Happy Saratoga Equipment Exchange group on Facebook and exchange used sports equipment with other Saratoga families: www.facebook.com/groups/besporthappy. I have several old log books from years and years of workouts as a young speed skater and cyclist. My Dad and my coach would ask me to keep track of my daily workouts so that I could see progress, discuss gaps in my conditioning and review the content of my workouts if I needed to peak for a particular competition.
I kept a log book because it was fun. There is a certain reward after a hard workout of being able to write it down. The workout scribbled on a small piece of paper in my pocket during the workout often turned into the words in my logbook. Intervals, speed work, circuits, hill runs, tempos. I loved to see how many miles I rode on my bike each week and each season. I enjoyed looking back at the details of the many hard workouts I put my body through year after year. I most certainly never wanted to see an empty day without any sports, unless, of course, it was a designated rest day. Keeping a log book was a way for me to log my successes and challenges and it motivated me to do more. For the older kids in the age group 10-13, log books provide a great way to put some structure into sport, and help kids as they get more serious about the sports they play, in anticipation of the next stage in one’s sports career, in the latter teen years, when the intensity gets greater and the stakes get higher for competing in those sports in which they like to play. Of course, for the recreational athlete, log books can also provide enjoyment similar to what a writing journal does for the individuals who like to write. Bookstores sell many different versions of hard copy workout log books, and the online apps give athletes so much to choose from depending on sport, what you want to track and how often you want to log. I would highly recommend, however, that kids use notebooks and pens or pencils to log their workouts. It is fun to see workouts on paper and with a little imagination, a ruler, a calendar, and a writing tool, younger kids can step away from technology and get some good old fashioned logbook experience. Happy logging! Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/besporthappy or join our Be Sport Happy Saratoga Equipment Exchange group on Facebook and exchange used sports equipment with other Saratoga families: www.facebook.com/groups/besporthappy. |
Be Sport
|