Community Sports
We have three kids and I knew it was going to get expensive. I stay home and am the primary caregiver for our children, while they are little. However, that doesn’t stop them from wanting to do extracurricular activities. So figuring out how to afford them is one battle, and other half is the time commitment for three.
Growing up I played sports, my brother and I played soccer. I do remember playing t-ball once, and my mom said I did try dance once, but soccer was the main activity. Now with my own kids, I want to have them try several activities to see what they like. It is almost like keeping up with Jone’s because there are some families who do every activity! Dance, Gymnastics, Baseball, Softball, Swimming, Theatre, Art, Piano, and the list goes on.
My middle daughter attends a preschool in Lafayette. I love it, it is a play based school with an amazing director. But Lafayette is an affluent city, which is not a bad thing but we are not in their income bracket to say the least. But to be honest in the Bay Area we aren’t in many income brackets because I stay home and don’t work. And although my husband has an amazing job and does earn a great income we are still on the low end. But this year we have felt the struggle on our wallets, as most of you probably have as well. So figuring out what sports we can do and how has been a challenge.
My strategy has been to have one sport/activity per season. We started soccer this past fall with my oldest, and I signed up to be her coach. The season is about 3 months long and it is all volunteer run. Although the time commitment is a lot at times, one practice on the weekday and one game each weekend, it wasn’t so hard because my middle was not interested in soccer so we just had one enrolled. We did sign up my middle daughter to dance, which she loves and is one day a week. Our youngest is still a baby, well not so much but he is now 2. So we haven’t signed him up yet for activities- but soon they will be coming!
Soccer was a great experience for my daughter and myself, so naturally we were eager to try another community sport for spring, softball! My husband is into baseball so naturally he was interested in coaching their teams. I was so excited to see him get involved but didn’t realize when I signed him up I made him my younger daughter’s head coach! Whoops!
The softball community is entirely different and I am hoping in a better way! It seems to have a lot more activities and volunteers needed. The problem is, this year we have two players. My oldest is on her own team for her age group and majority have all played before. However, they all seem fairly kind and welcoming. Which to be honest is a relief. We all want the sense of being welcome and feeling like part of something. My middle is on a younger team (TK and Kinder ages), and most parents do have experience either with their younger child or older. So we are a bit nervous and hope to do a good job. However, I am hoping we all can come together and enjoy the season.
While these community sports might be a bit intimidating they do stand for what I am hoping to give my children. Which is a sense of belonging, friendship, enjoying and learning the sport, and hopefully making lasting friendships. While I hope this for my daughter, I also hope this happens for our family and I do hope to enjoy this journey together as a family not just me and the kids. Having my husband be apart of this is an entirely new experience and I am so happy he is with us. I think it will make all the difference and we will all enjoy together. As they say, “Let’s Play Ball!”.
