Norfolk Youth Track Club

While Cara was busy with two track meets last week, the three little ones also had a track meet.  Erica and Ashlin have not participated in youth track the last couple of years, but Erica got talked into it by a few friends and we told Ashlin this was her extra practice to get ready for track and field day at school next week.

 The running events track meet was Thursday night.  The weather on Thursday was sunny and pretty warm with not much wind.  Ashlin's first event was the 400M Dash.  She was excited, but nervous to run.  She didn't understand the staggered start, so, Ashlin took off fast and passed two girls on the curve before heading into the wind on the back stretch.  Then she thought the finish line was in front of the grandstand so she started to slow down.  The finish line was at the past the grandstand.  We were yelling for her to keep running.  She finished in 5th place with a time of 1.39.7.  She was smiling and glad when it was over.

 Next, we had Justin running the 50M Dash.  He placed 3rd with a time of 10.5 seconds.  He ran his heart out!

 Then Erica was up in the 100M Dash where she placed 2nd in 16.6 seconds.  Each kid is placed in a heat based on what year they were born.

 Then Justin picked to run the 100M Dash for his second event of the night.  He finished 4th in a time of 20.3 seconds. He was having so much fun!

 Ashlin and Erica both picked to run the 200M Dash for their second event.  Ashlin placed 2nd in 40.8 seconds.  In the 200M, she knew where the finish line was which helped.  Erica placed 4th with a time of 34.8 seconds.

It was a great night at the track and we were so proud of them for competing and giving it their all!  This week we will have the field events meet and next week Erica and Ashlin have track and field day at school.

On a side note, Cara did have two track meets last week.  One day she went to Battle Creek and Keith took the day off from work and went and watched.  Then on Saturday, she competed in the conference junior high track meet in Hartington.  Grandpa and Grandma Leader, Keith and I braved a very windy day to watch her compete.  The wind made it hard to compete, but she improved by 10 inches in the long jump.  We consider that a successful day.  We have told her that it isn't all about placing, but improving and gaining experience.

Take care,
Michelle

Spring at Last

When the tulips bloom, it is a sure sign that Spring is here at last!  It has been a long, cold winter and the Spring so far has been cold, windy with a little bit of warmth thrown in.  I am so ready for it to stay warm.  My hands are itching to play in the dirt and plant flowers and the garden.  I did get some onion sets in last Saturday.

Take care,
Michelle

Easter at the Farm

On Saturday, we went to the farm for Easter.  My sister and her family were home from Minnesota so there were a few more to egg hunters.  Cara helped Aunt Holly hide the eggs and clues for the scavenger hunt. 

 Justin and Jack were paired together with easy clues to find their eggs.  Justin's job was to read the clues for them.  They ran from one end of the yard to the other and into the barn.  This clue was found on the seat of Grandpa's tractor.

 Julia's eggs were just scattered on the grass in the front yard.  She found her eggs three times while the other kids read clues to find their eggs.

 The clue was "Go to where Grandma parks her car".  The next clue was "Go to the dinner bell".

 Erica and Ashlin were paired together with harder clues.  But, when they got stumped, they knew to find Grandpa for help.  They had one clue down at the end of the lane, by a pair of Grandpa's boots, on the hay rack, etc.

 After the hunt was over, they all opened their eggs and started eating the treats inside.  Cara helped Julia.  Then they all played games of cards and board games.

Take care,
Michelle

First Junior High Track Meet

After practicing track for four weeks, Cara had her first junior high track meet last week.  The weather was supposed to be 50 degrees.  But, the temp was below 50 and the wind was blowing 20 mph out of the north.  It was a cold afternoon at the track.  This Mom had on her stocking hat, gloves, winter coat and took two blankets and a winter coat for Cara to stay warm.

 

 This track meet was an inner-city track meet that consisted of students from Norfolk Catholic, St. Paul's Lutheran, Christ Lutheran and Norfolk Public.  Each school could enter as many students as they wished in each event, but each student could only have four events if one was a relay.  7th Grade events was separate from 8th Grade.  Cara was to compete in the long jump, discus throw and the 400M. 

 Cara had a frustrating day at the track meet.  Her first event was supposed to be the discus, but the 7th Grade boys took so long on the event, that she checked in for the event and found out that she was in the 4th grouping to throw.  Therefore, she headed to the long jump pit.  The man in charge of the event was rude to her and told her at first that she had missed her jumps because he had called her name and she was not present.  She explained that she had been at the discus because she was also competing in that event.  Therefore, he decided to let her have her jumps.  But, he made her complete her two warm-up jumps and then followed by her three jumps for the event with no breaks in between.  This is not how the other girls in the event competed.  They each got a break between each jump.  Her first jump was 10'9" and her second jump was 11'5".  But, the guy wrote the 2nd jump down incorrectly.  Lastly, she scratched on her 3rd jump which was by far her best.

 Then she ran back over to the discus event for her throws.  While waiting for her turn, they call the 400M event.  Therefore, Cara asked the lady running the event if she could be moved to the front of the line to get her throws in before having to go run.  The lady moved her to the front and made her throw all three attempts one after another.  She did not throw well in this event.

Last, she went to go check in for the 400M dash.  They were lining up the 7th Grade girls to run and there were only 5 runners.  Cara told the guy running the event that her name had not been called to run.  He told her that her name wasn't down for the event; therefore, she could not run.  She walked away and the race started.  Her coach saw the race start and asked her why she wasn't running and she told him that she wasn't entered in the race.  She was so frustrated on the entire day because of how things were run. 

Tomorrow she has another track meet and I am hoping that it will go better for her.  She is entered in four events:  long jump, triple jump, discus and 400M.  Plus, the weather is supposed to be warmer and not as windy.  I hope and pray that her season gets better for her.

Take care,
Michelle

On An Adventure

 A few weeks ago the house directly behind our house sold.  The new family that moved in are the Corr's.  Addyson and Ashlin are in the same grade together at school.  Aiden, Addyson's brother, is in 1st Grade and he plays with Justin.  These kids play together almost every day, even when the weather is bad.  They are going to have so much fun together this summer!

Last Sunday, these two crazy girls decided to go on an adventure in the backyards.  They had a red wagon, a Toy Story fold-out chair, some water and some chips.  They had fun for quite awhile on a Sunday afternoon on their "pretend" adventure!

Take care,
Michelle

West Point Basketball Tournament

 The last 5th Grade basketball tournament was in West Point.  The first game the girls played a good team from Pender and lost.  This put us in the losers bracket with a game on Saturday at 3:30.

 Next up was a team from West Point Guardian Angel.  We won.  The girls played more aggressive and with lots of energy.  Erica had a good game defensively and even scored two points. 

 This was Erica's first season to play basketball and she has come so far.  She has learned to play aggressive, to box out, to guard with hands up, to shuffle her feet and she has gained so much confidence while having fun with her friends. 

 This little boy was such a good boy in West Point.  After his disappointing morning in Wayne at wrestling, he sat at the top of the bleachers by himself with his Leapster and played games while eating candy.  He didn't bother anyone and no one bothered him.

 Lastly, the girls played the other team from West Point Guardian Angel and lost in a very physical game.  The girls have a team huddle after every game and listen to the coach.  The huddle is ended with a "Hail Mary" as is tradition at Norfolk Catholic.

 They were all smiles at the end of the day.  This was the last tournament and it was season of learning and growth.  This group of girls has great potential!

As parents, we are so proud of these girls and especially Erica!

Take care,
Michelle

Wayne Wrestling Tournament

I am behind on posting.  Keith started on a big project and hasn't had a day off in about 2 weeks.  Therefore, I am the parent in charge of running kids, meals, homework, etc.  As a result, I am behind.

 The last weekend in March was very busy.  We had Erica playing basketball in West Point on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  Justin wrestling in Wayne on Saturday morning.  Cara playing volleyball in Columbus on Sunday.

 Justin had a tough last day of wrestling.  We got to Wayne and he weighed in at 44.6 pounds.  Cara, Grandma Korth and I were there to cheer him on.  He was placed in the bracket of 41-44 pounds.  I was thinking good bracket since he was at the top of the weight. 

 The first match is about to start and Justin starts crying and refusing to go on the mat.  I am talking to him, the coach is talking to him, another dad is trying to coax him, the ref is talking, and a guy running the tournament was trying.  Finally, we get him on the mat and he kills a kid from Battle Creek 10-0.  One win and two matches to go.

 He sits down and starts crying again.  I was bribing him with candy, McDonalds, etc and nothing was working.  He keeps crying and telling me that he just wants to forfeit and go home.

 Nothing was working and he ended up forfeiting his next two matches.  I made him shake both kids hands and tell them "good job" because he must learn sportsmanship.  As soon as he forfeited the last match, he stopped crying and even smiled on the medal stand with his 4th place medal.

 I know he could have won this tournament because the kid that Justin beat 10-0 in his first match ended up placing first.  I was so confused why he was crying and refused to wrestle.  He had done such a good job all season.  Later as we were leaving, Justin said to me, "I am not going to tell you why I wouldn't wrestle."

But later that night after getting home from basketball, Justin and Keith were having a talk and Justin told Keith, "I couldn't wrestle today because you weren't there to watch."  End of story and end of season.  I wish we could have ended on a better note, but he is ready to move on to track.

Take care,
Michelle