Play...Ball?

Our kids have been involved in theater activities from a young age, initiated by Staley coming out of the womb with jazz hands and a penchant for all things creative.  However, the theater world was a foreign place to me initially since athletics was always my passion growing up.  All the kids have tried various sport activities over the years and spectated at different sporting events, but so far we have not dived deep into the world of athletics with any of our kids.  Thus, their limited knowledge, interest, and understanding of organized sports has started to become more evident.

Staley has participated in the most sports activities of any of our kids over the years.  She has played basketball, baseball, soccer, and volleyball at various times over multiple seasons.  She was talking about the different sports she has played and noted, "I think volleyball is my favorite sport because I'm decent at it.  I mean, I'm not really good but I'm also not terrible at it."  I'm not sure that picking your favorite sport as the one you are "not terrible" at is a good sign for the future of athletic pursuits.

On the other hand, performing is just Staley's way of life.

Adelie has shown the least amount of interest in organized sports activities.  Although she has also tried soccer, basketball, and volleyball, most of her interest has never lasted more than one season.  We went to a minor league baseball game the other day, much to Adelie's chagrin.  While Staley and Briggs watched the game and asked some questions, Adelie had zero interest in what was going on during the game.

This was the extent of Adelie's interest in the ball game.

Briggs has amused us repeatedly with his general lack of sporting knowledge.  (Maybe we are failing as boy parents.)  When he attended basketball camp over the summer, it was unclear if he even knew what sport he would be learning about heading into his first day.  And when he came home from basketball camp and talked about not being good at "doing the shooters", it was evident that he had a lot to learn.  

Briggs' lack of sporting knowledge was also on display in a book he wrote called, "Lobster and the tutshdaon (touchdown)".  In his book, he wrote about lobster going to the basketball court, throwing over to his friend, and getting a touchdown.  At another point in the story, lobster goes to the basketball hoop and kicks a touchdown.  Hmmmm...  Not even sure where to start with that.

Briggs just started a season of soccer this past week.  Before his first practice, he was asking me about his team.  One of his first questions was, "What's my teacher's name?"  He then thought for a second and corrected himself, "I mean, my counselor."  I did let him know that his coach's name is Josh.  After the game, Briggs kept referring to the other class and the other teachers instead of the other team and coaches.

We might not be excelling in the sports category around our house yet.  On the plus side, we have identified plenty of opportunities for practice, learning, and growth.  Now it's time to head to the basketball hoop and work on kicking some touchdowns.