Volleyball Season Come and Gone

Yep that's right!  We have another Griffin in the house!  Kailey made the decision NOT to go to Western High School with a bunch of her basketball friends and instead decided to school her brother, I mean go to school with her brother!  They have had a lot of fun going to school together as it has been 4 years since they were in the same school together.  Carson doesn't even mind the fact that all his grade 12 friends think Kailey is pretty darn cool and Kailey fits right in with all of them.  She does have her own group of friends in grade 10 as well.  Her grade 10 friends think that she is so lucky to have a brother in grade 12 because she gets to hang out with all those guys as well.

After 6 gruelling tryouts she managed to secure herself a starting power position on the Jr. Girls Ernest Manning High School volleyball team.  During tryouts her foot began to really bother her and the doctor was suspecting a stress fracture so Kailey was sent for a bone scan of her foot.

Last year Kailey played setter but this year they needed some good power hitters so that is where she ended up playing.

The day we found out her foot was not fractured, and that is was OK for her to play on it (even though she already played a couple of league games on it), Kailey dislocated her hitting shoulder and was out for the rest of the season.  Her volleyball season was cut short this year.

Good thing we still had the senior boys to watch.  Carson was the captain of the team this year.

This is them warming up with their special "stop bullying pink shirts"

Volleyball is a game of momentum and keeping the momentum on your side of the court.  Carson is really good at getting his team going and keeping them talking on the court.  He would always start off the match by saying "Let's have some fun!"

"Connor, are you ready to have some fun?"  Connor can't help but smile at Carson!

Big block by Liam and Carson.

Of course there is always time to pose of the camera.

 Coach Larsen always depends on Carson to keep the team excited and Carson is fun to watch as he celebrates all the good rallies they win.  I love catching him in the moment of pure excitement and love for the competition!  I don't know anybody who is more competitive than Carson.

This is one of my favourite pictures of the season.  It was our last home game and Carson had said to Mr. Larsen "I'm not leaving this gym tonight until I get a big kill!"  A setter playing a 5-1 system rarely gets to pound the ball because they are always the one setting the second ball to the hitters.  Last point of the game and Carson gets a party ball to finish the match with his "big kill!"  He turned to Mr. Larsen and this was his expression!  (notice the players in the back laughing!).  As he walked towards the bench he says to the coach, "You have coached me for three years straight and should know by now that when I put my mind to something and say I am going to do something . . . I WILL do it!"  The coach was smiling from ear to ear!

The boys had a really good team this year.  They lost in the semi finals to Scarlett who had a team full of club players and then they played Western for third place.  The top three teams got to Provincials and Provincials were in Lloyd Minister this year.  None of the boys wanted to go all the way up there and so they didn't play very hard to win third place.  Carson was just fine with that because we all know what happens after volleyball season is over . . . . . BASKETBALL SEASON!!!

Carson's Last Year of Club Basketball

 This was Carson's third year playing for the Genesis club team.  He has really enjoyed playing ball with them and has had some great experiences travelling with the team.  They have travelled to Spokane every year and this year they flew to Portland to play in a tournament there.  They have also played in Edmonton every year and always represent Calgary well.

 The 4 Ernest Manning boys play together all year at school and then play together all spring with Genesis.  They have played ball together for years and it shows when they are on the court together.

 They always love when I pull the camera out!  Coach Fabian just laughs at them!

These boys won the gold in their league play and finished of the season by winning the big tournament in Edmonton July long weekend in over time.  It was a very successful season!

Carson, Brody and Steph with yet another gold medal around their necks.

Fabian has been a mentor for Carson for 2 years now.  He has coached him in club for 2 years and was also Darcy's assistant coach at the High School this last year.  Carson has learned a lot from Fabian on and off the court!  It is so great to have fantastic people mentor these boys!

It is sad to think that Carson's club playing days are over and he only has one high school season left. These are the days that Carson will remember for the rest of his life!

Well This Sucks!

Kailey was playing on the #1 CBA team this year again for club basketball.  They were a U15 team and played in the U17 division.  They were an amazing team and lost in the finals by 2 points to a U17 team.  Other than that they beat every other U17 team in Calgary (except the CBA U17 team).

 These girls play hard and train hard.  Kailey was having some knee issues this year and it was hard for her to play without pain but she did.

They travelled to Spokane in May.  The Genesis teams (Carson's club) and the CBA club teams took over Spokane.  There was blue and orange/black jerseys everywhere from Canada.

The last week of school Kailey was driving our motor scooter to the school and her friend cut her off on a bike.  Kailey ended up flying off the scooter and hurt her wrist.  When she came home she told me she thought it was broken.  Like the concerned mom that I am, I told her to put ice on it and it would be fine.  A few hours later we ended up the Children's hospital and sure enough it was broken.  She was in a cast for 4-6 weeks.  She was going to miss her team playing in a huge tournament in Edmonton (which they won).  Kailey was there to cheer them on because Carson's team was playing as well.  The biggest thing she missed was when her team went to Las Vegas in July and they played in two tournaments there.  It is a huge tournament with tons of amazing teams from all over the US.  They came in second the first tournament and won the second one.  It is a big deal for a Canadian team to go down there and win that tournament!  Kailey missed going to Vegas with her team this year.  All she had to say was "Well this sucks!" as she stared are her dumb pink cast!

Soccer Season 2014

Jordan loves soccer season even if it is a bit cold and often times rainy in Calgary.  He had 6 Mormon boys on his team this year and they were really good!  They won the gold medal this year again (for about the fifth season in a row).

Jordan is an intense player and is really starting to see the field well.  He is always looking for a pass inside to his teammates but he also knows when to try and score himself.

His teammates love it when he plays goalie because it is the only time they feel like the goal is really being protected well.  Jordan usually plays half of the game as goalie and enjoys the challenge and the pressure of that position.

This is probably the last year that JJ and his best buddy Grant will play soccer together.  We found out half way through the season that Grant will be moving to Denver.  JJ was crushed and tears rolled down his cheeks when I told him the sad news.  For now they enjoy every minute they get to play together.

My Pride and Joy

Spring 2014

I find myself looking at my kids and wishing I could just freeze time.  They are growing up so fast and as busy as I am with all of their activities, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I hate missing any games or events because I want to capture every minute of their activities.  I know that before long I will not have the busy schedule I do now and I will miss it.

Carson and Kailey in their club basketball uniforms. 

This is Carson's last year playing Genesis and Kailey plays for CBA.

And just in case you are wondering, Carson is taller than Kailey by about an inch.  Everybody always asks him if his sister is taller than him and his answer is always NO!

JJ loves soccer season!

And there is my ballerina.  Sadie is definitely the most graceful of them all!

Kailey Wins 1st

Kailey had a successful track meet this year and won 1st place in discus.  It was a nice way to end the school year sports at St. Joan after all the close losses she had.

Flag Football Season 2014

Spring sports are a bit of a whirlwind in Calgary.  Kailey has been busy with badminton and then flag football starts overlapping with badminton season.  She spends a lot of time on the field and in the gym.  This year her team was pretty good.  Kailey is the female receiver on our team.  

 A little running action to keep the team undefeated all season.

City championships at McMann Stadium!  This was a tough night!  

We ended up losing in double over time.  

This is Kailey going in for the final touch down to win the game.  We all thought for sure she was going to make it across but the ref says she was flagged just before her foot crossed.  There were a few questionable calls made in such a close game and in the end we had a chance to win in our last possession when Carlos caught the ball in the end zone and then dropped it.

Needless to say this team was not a happy one to have their pictures taking after losing this game in double overtime, especially given they had been undefeated all season.  You win some and lose some. It is just hard to lose such a close game.  It has kind of been Kailey's story this year.  She has taken really close losses in volleyball, basketball, and now flag football.

Kailey was not happy!  This is her last year wearing her St. Joan flag football 

jersey and she was really hoping to bring home the gold for her school.