It's all about hockey in one form or another

Yesterday the girls participated in the Girl Scout's USM Girl Sports Day. They had reluctantly agreed to go to the event after I convinced them it would be fun. Both girls barely lasted a season playing soccer when they were each in kindergarten and have resisted even considering playing that or any other sport I've suggested. It's not that I think they *have* to play sports, I just want them to simply try a season of a team sport to have that experience.

So when this Girl Scout event came around, I thought it was a the perfect opportunity for them try a variety of sports in a stress-free way. 

So what did they think about clinics where they learned how to play each sport?

Basketball - L: "It was a boring sport to play." G: "It was OK but I don't think I want to play it."

Soccer - L: "I liked soccer but I don't want to play it." G: "It was good. I will think about playing it for fun at my house."

Lacrosse - L: "It was too hard for me to catch the ball in the little net." G: "I didn't like lacrosse."

Field Hockey: L:"I LOVE field hockey! It was fun! And I was good at it too. I liked that!" (don't think I can use enough exclamation points to express her enthusiasm on discovering this sport) G: "I liked field hockey but I wouldn't compete, I would just do it for fun with my friends." (This is high praise from G. for a competitive sport; she is the sensitive one in the family and doesn't like the win-lose notion.)

I should not have been surprised at L.'s enthusiastic response to field hockey. If I had really thought about it, I should have known she would like it. Anytime I've suggested she play ice hockey - her favorite sport to watch - she has scoffed at the notion saying she doesn't want to get pushed around and beat up like they do at the Pirates games. I can't blame her for that so I haven't tried to convince her to try it. But field hockey offers the same type of action without being a serious contact sport. She's totally hooked on it now and was disappointed to discover that she has to wait until the end of the summer to join a team.

The girls also worked with the USM cheerleaders on a half-time routine for the women's basketball game that afternoon. All I can say is that my girls were not so keen on the cheerleading thing but they gave it a good effort and had fun (and they thought the USM cheerleaders were really nice).

The USM cheerleaders worked with the Girl Scouts on their routine before the game.

I realized that I hadn't been to a basketball game since college so I was looking forward to going to a game with the kids. Of course, it took me a few minutes to figure out how to explain the game to them because I'm not nearly as familiar with this sport as I am with hockey.

L.'s first question was to ask how many periods were in the game. Bless her heart, she's a hockey fan all the way.

But she and G. enjoyed the game; L. especially enjoyed yelling and clapping in the stands for the team as well as the cheerleaders (they did a lot of impressive flips). She really does know how to share her home team spirit.

The USM women's team warm-ups.

In between clapping and yelling (USM scored a lot), L. sat watching this clock for several minutes wondering what it was for. It finally dawned on me it was a play clock and a shot on net (or whatever it's called in basketball-speak) had to be made within 30 seconds or the buzzer rang.

It's too bad we've *discovered* college basketball so late in the season. It looks like the play-offs are just around the corner so there aren't many opportunities left to go to another game.

And on our way out of the game, L. caught a glimpse of the men's hockey team playing a game.

"We gotta go to one of their games too!"

It all comes back to hockey for my L.