My husband is a HUGE sports enthusiast! He grew up playing baseball, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, football, you name it-he played it! Having all boys-well it was just a given that as soon as they were old enough, they'd be enrolled in sports. Managing the schedule of three boys ins sports along with getting homework done, birthday parties and just life, well that's where the challenge comes in!
We started with a local community league of T-ball when Lucas was 3. It was dreadful. Practices/games were twice a week and lasted 3+ hours each. A lot of times, they even dragged on past bedtime-I mean it's hard enough to keep toddler's attention in t-ball, but go past bedtime-well, you've lost me then too! Last year, we joined another league and we literally had soccer 5 days a week. We never ate dinner as a family and well, we sometimes didn't even see each other as one parent was rushing out the door to get someone to practice and games. I know, I know. With three kids, our life is destined to be like this-kids in various activities in different locations, but at ages 5 and 9, I'm not ready for it yet.
This fall, we decided to make a change and head over to i9 Sports for soccer. My sister's kids have played flag football and soccer with them for a couple of years, and my oldest loved flag football with them, so we thought we'd give it a shot for the twins.
One of my favorite things about the i9 leagues is the timing. The practices and games are on the same day! You go to the field, practice and then the game is immediately following it. It's ONE DAY-for ONE BLOCK OF TIME! You play in the same location (alternating fields-but you can see them all when you get there) at the same time every single week!
The coaches are volunteers-and not only my son's coach-but you can see that ALL of the coaches are committed to the sport, to really teaching the game and the sportsmanship. Speaking of Sportsmanship-each week, one kid on the team received a medal for their improvements, good plays, or teamwork. The week Lucas got the medal-you would have thought he won the Powerball and the Superbowl all rolled into one. And at the end of the season, each child received a trophy as well.
Lucas loved Flag Football-and as his parents-we did too! We could see him thrive in a new sport-in a new environment-and a new league. I can't wait to see how much the twins love soccer with i9 Sports!
You can check out i9 too! i9 Sports offers youth sports leagues, camps, and clinics for boys and girls between the ages of 3-17 in today’s most popular kids' team sports. While sports offerings vary based on the i9 Sports location, they offer flag football, soccer, basketball, baseball, and cheerleading in hundreds of communities each week. Follow i9 Sports on Twitter to find out more @i9Sports215!
**Register today for fall sports and use code MacKid and save $10!
