I had to take my DD to a "mandatory" Track practice today (Saturday) at 2:30. The coaches think that the team is not good enough yet to compete so that is the reason for this "mandatory" practice. She is only in 7th grade for pete's sake. I expect this kind of stuff when she is in high school, but 7th grade? And, right smack dab in the middle of the weekend? I know this is the age where the social life and activities start to kick into high gear, but schools expect so much from kids these days. Why do they have to cut into a middle-schooler's weekend too? Ok - glad I got that off my chest.

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 04:46 pm:

That seems kind of sucky. Why couldn't they have had a morning practice? That seems rather harsh for a middle school team, though! Sheesh.

By Sandysmom on Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 05:02 pm:

My sentiments exactly! They are only middle school! There will come a time soon enough for them to deal with stuff like this.

By Melanie on Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 05:41 pm:

Honestly, I don't let stuff like that bother me. Both our boys are involved in sports and we've learned to roll with extra practices and changes in schedules. Even if it is an inconvenience to me, our boys are getting out there doing what they love. So for them, they wouldn't feel like it was cutting in on their weekend. I have a feeling your daughter doesn't look at it like that either. I understand that it wasn't in your plans for the weekend, but it happens and I wouldn't let it get to you.

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 05:52 pm:

Well, if that's what it takes to be on the track team and your daughter wants to stay on the track team, then she'll have to do it. That is a decision she'll have to make. Maybe, if they keep this up, you and some of the other parents can take turns carpooling to the Saturday practices.

By Breann on Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 06:38 pm:

Ditto Melanie. It's just part of the game. My dd is on a competitive dance team, and we frequently get extra, last minute practices thrown into our schedule. Lots of times it's on a weekend. And always "mandatory" of course. But, she loves to dance, so we just go along with it. She's always excited about the extra practices.

By Debbie on Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 06:44 pm:

It is just part of sports(or any activity) My boys both LOVE baseball. With games, and practices, it is crazy during baseball season. I just tell myself that it is only a few months out of the year. They both love it, so it is worth it. I just know practices can get scheduled at any time, and go with the flow. Both of mine have practice from 3-5pm on Sundays. It is not convenient, but oh well. They both love going.

By Sandysmom on Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 06:44 pm:

Yeah, I guess I need to just let it go. I just would prefer them to not have things on the weekend, but that's life.

By Cocoabutter on Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 11:36 pm:

Silly to be peeved? No. I don't like it when last minute things are thrown into my plans, throwing everything else off.

But, she is in a sport, and it takes work and practice to improve performance, and if she really wants to improve, she should understand (and so should you) that it may take some extra work. I don't understand what is wrong with challenging a child (no matter what the age) to do better, to stretch beyond what THEY think they are capable of doing. That means placing higher expectations on them because the coach (and the parent) KNOW that they are capable of more and better things than even they do.

And imagine the pride and sense of accomplishment that she will get when they do win the game!

By Sandysmom on Sunday, April 15, 2007 - 06:46 am:

Yes, I see your point. I ALWAYS want to see my child succeed, and I made the committment to allow her to stay after school every day, so again, I should just suck it up and deal. I had a moment of aggravation that I put into words - that's all. I would do anything for my daughter, and I gladly do whatever I can for her. Am I still peeved? Yes a little. They only had the practice for an hour and when I got there early to pick her up, most of the kids were sitting around talking. If they weren't ready, then why weren't the coaches making use of every spare minute? But what do I know?

By Karen~admin on Sunday, April 15, 2007 - 09:15 am:

Ditto Melanie - when I was a single parent, Jen was taking 5 dance classes a week; Jeff was playing baseball and taking guitar lessons - every day after work one of them had to be somewhere and it was the same on weekends. The baseball practices/games were different times each weekend; sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the middle of the afternoon, sometimes in the evening; Jen had a pointe/lyrical class on Saturday mornings, and around mid-day, she had a competition class.

It's all part of the things your kids are involved in, and if it's important to your kids (and you), then you just have to live with it.

Enjoy this time, even if there are inconveniences - it passes quickly!

By Kay on Sunday, April 15, 2007 - 06:31 pm:

I don't think you're being silly at being peeved. I know that I have not always been the most excited parent to take my kids to all those extra practices, but I did. If they don't get used to extra practicing at this point, then high school will be a quite rude awakening for them....and for you!

Did I ever complain? Of course! LOL But now that I'm down to one child at home who can drive herself, it doesn't seem quite so bad. And we ended up with 3 well-rounded kids who have great work ethics. It all pays off.