Water Polo Weekend

Danger Boy only gets three days off school for Thanksgiving; given the tight time frame and the difficulty of getting a ticket on points around the busiest travel week of the year, we knew he wouldn't be able to come home for the holiday. Thankfully his coach likes to play a tournament in California in October--he does it for the great competition and so the parents of the West Coast players can see the team.

You couldn't have kept us away if you set up a police roadblock.

Mr. Fix-it, Social Butterfly, The Girl Next Door and I left Friday morning and stayed the weekend. We watched Danger Boy's team play seven games in three days and we were able to squeeze in seeing one of the high school team's games on Saturday morning--that was awesome with a side of fantastic.

                                              DB helping coach his former team

The competition at the tournament Gannon was playing in was fierce--on top of that only 11 players made the trip west and one of the captains hyperextended his elbow the first night and wasn't able to play several of the games. Good thing winning isn't everything. More important than winning, for us, was:

• Meeting DB's teammates; what a great bunch of guys they are--friendly, polite, respectful and fun. The team is a very cohesive, supportive group and spends most of their free time together. The captains are wonderful mentors. Overall the team is very young; most of them will be playing together for three more years. There's a lot of potential for the team to become really good as they mature as players and as a team (being a young, "rebuilding" team was instrumental in DB's choosing the school). 

• Meeting the parents of DB's teammates. We met two other families and I think I know why their sons are such good kids.
• Getting to talk to DB. He is so not a phone person that it's hard to get details about anything. His grades are good and it's comforting to know the coach has and enforces a study hour.  DB doesn't care for his scripture class (Catholic school), but likes Intro to Social Work. He seems to have adjusted to Pennsylvania weather okay--though, of course, it hasn't snowed yet.
• Getting to see DB play again! We were going through water polo withdrawal (I will admit to having been to several of the high school team's games--though I have taken to calling it "going to visit my friends who happen to be hanging out at the pool watching their sons play polo").
• Getting to be the team of "Juggling & Juggling" sports photographers. My husband shoots and I edit--we got action shots of everybody and we both feel very proud when one of "our" photos becomes someone's FB profle pic.                                   

 Speaking of photos . . .

Just a sampling of the many photos of DB we got over the weekend (click to enlarge). Yes, he is being choked and his cap has been lost in the bottom middle picture. He's wearing #7 if you didn't figure that out.

I mentioned they were a young team traveling with a small roster--this wasn't the case with their competition. The team in blue (below) had 23 players--several of whose birth certificates I'd love to see. Like, say, this guy . . .

Doesn't really look like a fair fight, does it?

This last picture isn't water polo-related; it is of DB and The Girl Next Door. They were very mature and reasonable when they broke up before she went to spend the summer in Texas with her father. Long-distance relationship, he's in college while she's still in high school and all that. This is the first time they've seen each other in four months (he left for school before she got back home) and they've decided the being broken up thing wasn't working for them so they'll give long-distance a try.

 
I'm less uptight then some people about young people not being tied down too young--I'm sure that's because I married my high school sweetheart and it's worked out--and I just adore them as a couple, so I'm rooting for them to be happy together for a good, long while. Or not. Whatever works for them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Jen on the Edge]

Great photos. What a handsome team of young men. Makes the mother in me proud to see them all cleaned up and looking spiffy.

I'm so glad that things are going well for DB.

[gary rith]

Just great, Jenn :)

[green girl in wisconsin]

We were just discussing at book club how college boys aren't "phone people" (most of the Bumbles have sons in college). I bet it was some comfort to see your son among his new peers and know he's in good company.
and his relationship decisions seem solid, too.

[Jenrantsraves]

I've never seen a water polo match, and really know nothing about it. It looks SO physically strenuous! So, the other team is allowed to choke, and hold back the other players?

[Jenn @ Juggling Life]

Only when the refs are not watching!

[Cassi Renee]

Sounds like a thoughtful coach.

And a thoughtful DB and girlfriend. They look very happy together. It's a pity the U.S. is so huge!

[dennyp]

Water Polo? Wow, as a HUGE sports fan, I have always thought that water polo would be by far the hardest to play. Good for him,and it's great to see you as a very supportive parent.

[Busy Bee Suz]

That last photo evoked an awwww from me. So sweet.
I had no idea he was attending a Catholic school. Not a bad thing, just surprising.
Lo's softball coach requires 8 hours of study hall each week too.
So happy you were able to visit with him, I imagine you all miss him terribly.

[Little Miss Sunshine State]

It's such a good feeling when your kid seems to have chosen a college that's a good fit.

Long-distance relationships aren't what they used to be, with texting and skype.

[Karen (formerly kcinnova)]

I'm glad to finally get a chance to see these photos! And esp. glad that you got to see DB. :) Nothing wrong with finding the right person at a young age!
My MM isn't coming home for Thanksgiving, either. He'll spend a few days with Rapunzel & family in-between weekend football games (aka, Marching Band gigs).

[JCK (Motherscribe)]

So wonderful that you had this weekend with DB and the team, and got to see them in action!!

[Jocelyn]

Please always take heart from the fact that I Want To Be You. You're so easily and healthily full of love that it feels like who I want to be (ah, hell, I may be that person already, but I want you to understand just how much I respect your state of being). Those kids are so lucky to have you as an example of adulthood.

Side note: apologies for my lack of consistent bloggerness these last months. I can't figure out where my blog hours used to come from...or where to find them just now. But I, weirdly?, think of you daily.

[EMO]

Check out these EMO waterpolo trunks:
http://www.emoproducts.com/EMO.html