Introducing water polo players #12 and #18!

Without doubt, had we not moved to Ohio and possibly even Mason, the boys never would have found themselves playing water polo in high school! It wasn't until meeting their friend Mia that swimming even began to be of interest to them. Then a friend of mine from church encouraged me to look into water polo as her daughters played at the high school and she felt pretty confident water polo would be something the boys would probably find more fun than swimming. She was right! The middle school had a program that allowed interested 8th graders to practice with the high school JV team as a way to get them acquainted with the sport and teach them the basics. Sure enough the boys really enjoyed it and now after playing their first high school season will agree that they much prefer polo to swim. Having said that they will swim through high school because the coaches encourage it as a way to keep them in shape. So here are players #12 and #18!




This year the high school had a brand new water polo coach. What was good about that was she had no preconceived notions about any of the kids. We all know politics exists in sports but having her come in from the outside diminished any of that. She also was thinking about the development of the team over the course of the next few years and so had indicated she'd be selecting a couple freshman to attend the first big two day varsity meet at Napoleon as a way to develop and prepare future players. Ty and Connor were thrilled to learn they were the two freshman she had selected. She couldn't guarantee how much playtime they'd get but wanted them to come to gain a better understanding of how tournaments work and hopefully give them opportunities to play as relief players. How exciting it was when one of the moms text me to tell me Ty had scored his first goal! Although I didn't get to attend, I heard all about the fun they had. It was the first time they had traveled with a sports team overnight which I know they also enjoyed! Here is the varsity team plus two cute freshmen!



After the Napoleon tournament Coach added the boys to the varsity roster. Although they'll primarily play on JV, they were thrilled at the opportunity to play in varsity games and I think it was great for their confidence that out of all the freshmen, they were the only two selected. She mentioned to me a couple times how she'd never seen such eager kids who desired so much to get better so I was happy to see them rewarded with the opportunity to push themselves even further. It was clear she hadn't yet learned we were moving and the boys would not be around next season and I hoped when that time came she'd continue her investment in them. Thankfully she did.

We never have to worry about the boys trimming their nails during polo season...For football we had weigh ins, and for water polo they have nail checks...



Here are a few shots I managed to capture of Ty during the season:



And here are a few shots of Connor. By far a highlight was seeing Connor score his first goal in a varsity game:



The beauty of team sports is watching the camaraderie that is so evident from the stands. Compound that with getting to watch your two boys play at the same time handing off the ball to each other warms my heart. So glad they found a sport in high school that they love and I enjoy watching. No more freezing on the stands or roasting in the sun. It may be a big muggy but with tournaments lasting just under an hour, I feel like it's the best of all worlds in sports! :)



Proud supporters...




The award ceremony: It's no secret that when raising twins you worry about the competitiveness that can exist between them. Although Connor has had an edge on Ty in school, Ty has had an edge on Connor in sports. The good news is each of them have had bragging rights for something. Unfortunately it's not like you get publicly praised when you get good grades in school..at least not until graduation. But Ty has frequently been awarded special awards and leadership roles in football and swim. Once again I found myself bracing and keeping an eye on Connor as Ty got the boys Rookie of the year award. Of course I was happy for him but you have no idea how thrilled I was to hear Connor also recognized with the boys most improved player award. To see the look on Connor when he got the award was priceless. A great way to kick off high school sports! Had to laugh though when I said to the boys how cool it was that they got a "letter" and their response was "what are we supposed to do with it". Clearly it doesn't symbolize to them what it did to people back in the olden days when I was in high school...haha!




Now off to Florida where the boys will get to participate in water polo for a second time this school year since there it is a spring sport!!!