sportsball champions

for the last seven weeks, we have been going to a fun little thing called Sportsball, offered through the city of chandler. it was 45 minutes for 2-3 year olds to hang out with their parent, and a professional Sportsball Coach, and learn the basics of sports with balls- volleyball, soccer, golf, baseball, floor hockey, football, and tennis.

we had an awesome coach in Coach Megan. she was just all about the kids and encouraging them, and being so patient and excited for any and every thing they did. we did a little bit of one sport each day, with other little fun things for toddlers to do- jumping over a wiggly rope on the ground, going through an obstacle course, 'rescuing animals from a tornado' (aka trying to get a bean bag without getting hit by a bean bag at the end of a rope that Coach Megan swung over her head VERY CAREFULLY.)

the whole thing was a very positive experience for us, cause we were able to be active with our kids, and have them follow instructions from someone who wasn't related to them or one of their friends' moms. the kids did pretty well- lily a little better than topher. but that's ok. listening skills are developed, not just something everyone is naturally gifted with (especially boys/men! i don't care if that's sexist or a stereotype.) we are on the fence as to whether or not topher just has a really short attention span, or is not very interested in sports. or maybe a little bit of both. hockey was his best sport, which is maybe his half-canadian side coming out. (though i hate hockey, and that's why i left canada :) as big a sportsfan as topher's dad is, he was very ok with the fact that his son might not be. maybe we will sign topher up for hip-hop dancing, even though he (and you) will have to wait till he's 3 for that. lily did great with most sports, and we are definitely setting our sights on sports scholarships to get her through college. her next stop will probably be ballet though. just to keep her options open.

anyway, it cost us about $70 ($50 instructor fee, $20 class fee) which is kinda steep, but it definitely made us get off of our lazy bottoms and into that class every saturday! it's fun to expose the kids to different things and having them interact with other toddlers with sports equipment in hand. it's also interesting to see what the kids gravitate to, and what they do not. i would definitely recommend it if you have the extra cash floating around, but if you don't, there's nothing wrong with converting your livingroom into a baseball diamond/soccer field/obstacle course at least once a week.