Ballers...

The boys have been attending "Itty Bitty Ball" - the name alone is enough to sell me on the whole dealio - but seeing them in action puts Itty Ball totally over the top!

They love it.

They spend an hour learning the ins and outs of most sports that involve a ball twice a week.  They've already covered soccer and football.  We'll see what this week entails.

Watching them with their coaches and the other kids, I've learned a few things about my little ballers:

Kaelster loves the action of it all.  He has LOUD outbursts of glee in the form of belly laughs or "Bombs AWAY!" exclamations just before a very non-textbook kick or throw.  But mostly... that boy loves to hit.  Balls or people - makes no difference to the dude.  The coaches were "blocking" the boys as they ran through a football drill and the boys were supposed to push the coach out of the way after they jumped over a small crash mat.  Kael literally rammed into the poor coach then spiked his ball right at her mid-section.  Forget about scoring the touchdown with ball in hand, you know?  The glee on his face said it all.  He might be a football player in the future - but his role will definitely be defense.  Not a doubt in my mind.

Dax soaks in every single bit of information shared with him and can then relay it to any kid in the hood.  Last week they talked about the fact that when you kick a football the laces should be on the side.  But when you throw a football your fingers should be directly ON the laces.  And whaddya know... Dax strategically set up his ball on his cone and kicked it with his toe through the goal posts all text book like.  Then he proceeded to throw perfect spirals with his little fingers gripping the laces "just so".  If they play together, Dax will be the QB, the ball thrower and the strategist...  And he'll probably be able to recollect every little tiny thing he's been taught and implement it.  It's amazing.  He digs it.

Ace is like a moth.  Maybe that's him being three or maybe that's really just who he is.  He flits around at high speeds but gravitates to what he finds to be most interesting. Last week he loved the obstacle courses/drills so much that instead of switching stations and going to throw or kick, he camped out at the obstacle course.  If someone was reticent to join, he just shoved his way past them and took their turns and his.  He does every drill with a grin on his face and his tongue hanging out of his little mouth.  When it is actually time to move on to something new, he is the last to put away his equipment and admit defeat...  He is passionate about what he loves and he is open about what he doesn't love.  If only they'd plan the entire hour around Ace and his preferences, you know?

And that is kind of their personalities in a nut shell.  It will be fun to see what they do later in life with their skills.  Who knows if ball will even be a part of it, but I'm hoping they remember bits and pieces of this, and sweating it up together in a gym.  

I know I love it.

And I have a zillion heart-eye emojis for my little ballers.