Karate & Softball... a busy day!
Wow... what a day! It was one of those days I thought I'd be able to avoid... maybe forever? We started with karate, leaving the house at 10:30am... stayed until 2:00... rushed across 'town' to softball (missing the team picture session that STARTED at 2:00) for a 3:00 game. We got there in time to get to the batting cages and then warm-up on a practice field while the game before us drug on until 4:00. Finally, Maddie's game started at 4:00, and by 6:00 we were back home with hot pizza in tow. Whew...
The tournament was quite an experience. Matthew was up first, and for some reason he went REALLY slow in his hokei (that he could do in his sleep he knows it so well), which always makes him lose track of where he is... and it makes him sloppier... and both of those things happened. I'm not sure why he was going so slow - nerves I guess. Anyway, he scored 9.2, 9.2, 9.3. Maddie was in the next round, and she started of strong but then somehow made a mis-step when she started her back roll and she fell over. She got up and kept going and finished strong, but she, too, got 9.3's. She has placed the last two years, but we talked the other day and I reminded her that she needed to go into this with realistic expectations given that softball has seriously encroached on her karate attendance, and as good as she is, she'd be competing against folks that have been going to practice three or four times a week and getting fine-tuned. She was visibly disappointed, but I think it was a great experience. I was so proud of both of them for their sportsmanship, determination and courage.
After the hokei round, Maddie competed in jissen (free sparring). She did great! She won her first round and made it into the semi-finals. Her first match there, she did AMAZING and was winning until the last second when the other kid tied it up. She lost because although the score was tied, she had 1 penalty and he had none (she had an AWESOME punch that just happened to land on his face instead of his chest. Ahem.) That kid ended up winning first! Maddie competed for 3rd/4th and ended up WINNING a tie match in overtime with a tie score - the OTHER kid had the penalty. :-) 
From there, we flew to softball. I'm having a hard time embracing this whole softball experience, primarily because of the inconsistency it throws into our well-oiled machine of a schedule. The other big strike is that it cuts into karate, which is near and dear to my heart. And did I mention the cheers? The cheers that have nothing to do with the game that is going on - or even with SOFTBALL for that matter. Oh well... I will adjust. Perhaps a little more slowly than others... in my only-child speed... but I will adjust. Afterall, this isn't about ME. Today was actually a fun game to watch. It stayed very close the whole time, and we only lost by 1 point (as opposed to Tuesday's 9 point blowout). Maddie played left field, center field and rover. The best thing about softball is her coaches... they are really great. Encouraging, instructing... even a Tech grad in the mix. Oh, and did I mention that other than 2 days of summer camp, this is Maddie's very first EVER softball experience? And that's it fast pitch -- KID pitch?? Yes. Lots of stealing, lots of walks, lots of scoring... not so much hitting. I digress. Maddie had 2 at bats, and although she struck out and walked (successful at bat! She came around and scored!!), she SWINGS at the ball - and good swings at good pitches (a little late maybe, but good swings). It's just a matter of time, right? She was thrilled that she scored a run, and I was thrilled for her. I love how she STAYS "softball ready" in the field, too... at least when she's in the field, she's all in. When she's in the dug out, well, I'm not sure she even knows there's a game going on...
