What movie is "LET THE KIDS PLAY!" from? I don't actually have the answer, because I'm being lazy and not looking it up but I feel like I've run across grown ups chanting this in the bleachers in various movies. The Bad News Bears, perhaps.
Similar theme in Footloose . . . let the kids dance, but that charge was led by some really hip teens who were addressing the adults of the town. *Swoon (over the hip teens, not the adults)*
I find myself in the middle of a pandemic chanting this phrase from the virtual stands.
LET THE KIDS PLAY . . . WHATEVER DAMN SPORT THEY WANT, EVEN IF THAT MEANS DOUBLING UP.
The high schools in the area bumped football and volleyball (and maybe others) from the fall to the spring when they were cancelled. So wait, what does that do to the sports that have historically taken place in the spring?
I'm not a parent of a football player, so I'm in the minority here. Not sure if it is just our neck of the woods, but don't mess with people's football. The fans want to get out there in all kinds of weather and cheer like crazy. I was so happy when Lad graduated, because we banned the remainder of our offspring from football. It just so happened that the most of the other sports my kids play take place indoors. AC, heat, no rain. It's a beautiful thing.
Then one day I realized "Oh shit, Tank is playing in the band." - Back to the bleachers in all kinds of weather we went. He quit after freshman year so he could be in the stands leading the spirit section. He now holds an official spot as spirit leader or something.
Anyway, a few weeks ago Mini told me that badminton was starting up this week. It didn't really dawn on me that the timing was off. I was just happy that her sport was happening.
Mini played tennis in the fall. Wore a mask. Wrote her name on her ball. No one could touch another player's ball. (why do I feel like Kari will have an inappropriate comment about this line?) The players flipped the balls to one another with their racquets. It added a new element to the game. I feel like they should've gotten extra points for being able to coral their balls within a certain amount of time, or after only so many flips.
In winter, Mini plays basketball. In the fall they had some open gyms for shooting around while masked. Then nothing.
Till now.
On Wednesday the IHSA announced that basketball could happen. I won't bore you with details, in part because I really didn't pay much attention to them. Remember, Wednesdays: I drown in tots over here. The TV volume cannot be put high enough for me to know what the hell is happening on a Wednesday without risking blowing out baby eardrums.
I grasped that basketball was moving forward and I celebrated between diaper changes. Reg has been lost without basketball.
Mini came home distressed. Basketball could start . . . NOW, at the same damn time as badminton. This was not on my radar.
She has friends on each team. She is wildly crazy about each season. Very different experiences, but so much fun. She had to choose. She had to choose?!
Me: Wait, what?
I barely know what day it is, so I was kind of not focusing on the badminton-is-starting-and-it-is-not-in-season point. Now it was all clear. At first I couldn't figure out why, and then it dawned on me. In order for volleyball to move to the spring, badminton had to move out of its regular slot. Both sports need the field house. Most people in these parts count volleyball as life giving and badminton is more 'meh'.
Mini assumes she'll do basketball, but if we don't move to tier 1 then there will be no actual games. She's wondering why play basketball if there are no games? Badminton can be done similar to tennis. Masks are enough because there really isn't body contact or breathing in your defender's face, etc.
I've had it. It's against the rules to let kids register for two sports, but as Mini pointed out if there are no b-ball games, then she can attend badminton matches on the weekends. The practices don't always conflict. Both coaches want her to play. Both are willing to let her try both.
She has a tough course load of classes, but half the time school gets out at noon. She can study and do two sports.
Cue the 'let's hear it for the girl' music, right? (I know, in Footloose it's boy not girl, work with me).
Fingers crossed that the governing body allows kids to register for 2 sports. Why make them give up anymore than they already have? I'll keep you posted.
Meanwhile, I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it is to see Curly play basketball and Tank play volleyball on their travel teams. Last weekend Curly played a team that had two or three players on the court at all times who wore their masks below their chin or at the very least below their nose.
Yes, I called foul.
When the ref started to hand the ball to the player to start the 2nd half directly in front of me (lest you thought I caused a scene), I asked him to watch the masks.
"Some girls aren't wearing their masks."
He heard me, and he TRIED to make the other players wear their masks. It got a little bit better. Still not 100%. Not a single girl on our team broke the mask rule. A player without a mask is at a total advantage to the ones wearing them properly.
And there it is - the one thing I never dreamt I would call out to a referee. The question is, will I now draft an email begging someone to let Mini play both her sports? Keep you posted.