Ah, sweet J!
She continues to be very enthusiastic about volleyball. She’s been practicing out in our driveway. Sometimes I am enlisted to help, throwing the ball way up in the air or calling out a direction for her to send a pass just before she hits it (Trash can! Chair! and so on).
J’s registered for a couple of different volleyball camps this summer. Last year she tried one camp, the Union camp, and she really liked it, but it conflicts with other plans we have this year. Instead, she’s doing Siena and Spike Mountain. Those are both new to her, and she didn’t even care if friends registered or not because she was so excited to go and improve her volleyball skills. I really like getting her into some camps, because she’s definitely happier when she’s got a little structure imposed on her summer. The other day a friend mentioned yet another camp, and we were tempted, but between the volleyball camps she’s already planning to attend and that Young Women’s Engineering Camp I mentioned, sliding in the extra camp would start to feel like way too much structure. It’s a delicate balance and all that.
Meanwhile, she’s also signed up for our town’s weekly volleyball league. This has so far been a “meh” experience because she’s on the beginners’ net with a bunch of other beginners, so the quality of play is not awesome and it’s hard to tell if it will really help her improve. The first day she was really bummed out about it, but I think that’s just because her expectations were high. Now she’s become a bit more resigned and philosophical about it. However, to cramp her style further, she’ll need to play next week on her last day of school, when she traditionally hosts some friends for a party. So that is not entirely awesome for her, especially since her enthusiasm’s not as high as when she first signed up. In any case, I think that she views even not-so-great volleyball as better than no volleyball at all, so that’s a plus.
It’s pretty amazing how full her summer is already. Which is good for her, I think. Now she just has to push through those last few days of school. For the first time ever, the last day of school is a full day instead of a half day. She pretty much can’t wait to get it done and get started on summer.
