Pee Wee Track Meet

I present the 2008 Kindergarten C Team for the Pee Wee Track Meet! The team is made up of Carlo, My Son and Mickey. They were excited and ready to compete.

While they waited for the fun to begin they posed with their Eight Grade Coach, Miss T. She also happens to be my niece and my son's big Buddy! He was able to get her to trade teams so she could be his coach. Can you tell he loves his "Big Buddy" cousin?

The first event that the three amigos had was the ring toss! They got three rings to toss onto a large board filled with pegs. The kids were grouped together according to the number of "ringers" that they got.

Our group each got one ringer and so they were awarded third place ribbons! The boys were all happy with their accomplishment and were excited to go to the next event.

This was the first time that my son has ever gotten a ribbon for a sporting event, so he was happy with the ribbon. The place or the color of the ribbon did not matter. I was having a good time watching him participate and be excited in his endeavor.

My daughter went with us to the track meet. She also loves her big cousin, Miss T. She was happy to get to sit with her while we waited to go to the next event.

The ball toss was our next event. The boys each got a tennis ball to throw. Lines had been sprayed in the grass to designate first, second and third place finishes. Mickey and Carlo both threw into the second place range. My son's landed in the third place section, just missing the second place section. All of a sudden, things were beginning to change. He was still happy with his third place ribbon, but didn't like the fact that the other two got red ribbons. Red being his favorite color.

Next we headed over to the 50 yard dash. They separated the kids into three or four groups. Our three boys did not compete against each other. Mickey went first and he got a first place ribbon. Yeah Mickey! Next Carlo went and I think he got a second place finish. When it was my son's turn, he got all set at the starting line, making sure his feet were right at the line.

When it was time to go, he took off fast. He was out in the lead for a little bit, but he started looking to his side and behind him! Suddenly the pack caught up and he was in second place. By the time they were 3/4 of the way, he looked sideways and behind again and then he was in third. When he got third again, he wasn't so happy. When he came over to where I was he said, "I lost again Mommy." I tried to reassure him that third place was not last. They were giving out fourth place ribbons as well and he had not gotten one of them. I think this made him feel a little better, but it made me sad.

Luckily after the running event, they got to go to the rest area. Here they participated in a music/dance event and got to drink cold water. Everyone got a purple participation ribbon, so they did not have to compare ribbons.

The fifth event was the bean bag toss. In this event they had to throw three bean bags into a circle several feet away. If the bean bag landed in the circle they got a point. Once again, this is how they placed the kids. Both Mickey and Carlo got two, and my son only got one! This time he was not happy. It was a good thing that his coach was his cousin because she was able to make him feel better! When it came time to give out the ribbons, they had run out of third place ribbons, so when they got to my son, he got to pick what color he wanted! He wanted a blue one of course! He was now pretty happy again!

The last event was the broad jump. I was hoping that my son would do good in this event. He is one of the smallest kids in his class and also in this group, so I wasn't expecting too much. Here he is hanging out in the shade with Mickey before the big jump.

My son was all set to go. He is a rule follower so he made sure that he lined his feet up just as the lady told him.

When it came time to jump, he did a great job! He jumped farther than either of his other two team mates and also farther than most of the other kids. He was finally going to get at least a red ribbon! Yeah!!

The track meet brought back lots of fun memories for me. I was excited to be going back to a favorite event from my past. I was always very competitive and loved sports. I can remember how this track meet stirred my competitive nature in sports. I was hoping that it would do the same for my son. Seeing him get his little heart broke made me sad. It is hard to protect them from all of life's disappointments. He probably won't be my athlete, maybe only my scholar! I guess if I had to pick between the two, I would want it to be just the way it is. As long as he is happy!