Vetta Indoor Soccer

Just finished our session for the girls indoor soccer up at Vetta-Concord!  It was a 10 week session, indoor so no rainouts which is a plus! 
We enjoy Vetta's Kickaroo program because of the instruction they receive and how good the "coaches" are~ (the coaches are the same for every team).   Two teams do 30 minutes of practice all together, then split off and play each other for the next 30 minutes.  It's very cute to watch...swarm ball is what we call it.  All the kids just run around trying to score!   No positions, but do have goalies.
It's also nice for the parents, it's been our Friday night hangout now for a while.  They serve food and drinks (including beer) there! 
As far as cost for the league, I think it's pricey!  It's $35 to register then $100 for the session.  Like most sports, $100 isn't bad but it's only 10 weeks and it cost more than my aerobics class cost.  And with two kids participating, it gets very pricey.  You get a t-shirt with the cost but the rest (shorts, shoes, shin guards, socks) are on you! 
I do think the size of the field is decent..not too big, not too small.  Unlike when you play for Fenton's outdoor league ~ huge and way too big for little ones just running around chasing a ball.  We love the CYC's league for soccer outdoors...it's small and 5v5 and no goalies which is appropriate for this age (4-5).
My reveiw:  Great atmosphere, more on the pricey side for what you get, but we have fun and so do the girls~so overall, WE DIG IT! Will definitely play there again when the weather doesn't permit for outdoor soccer!

YMCA Basketball Program

Well the boys just finished their basketball league at YMCA! A little review on that: Good, solid, non-competitive program as far as I'm concerned.  If your child is a beginner at basketball, this is a great program to start in, no matter what age.  We have played there for 4 years now and each year has gotten a little more competitive.  We have had the pleasure of being on a great team with a great coach and with improvement, the boys have ventured out and played in tournaments on their own~not affiliated with YMCA.  The program is 10 weeks and they practiced one night per week with one game per week.  We went undefeated, often out scoring the other teams by 20+ points (which is why I say it's a great beginning place to start...and we have developed as a team over the past 4 years where we could now venture out and play competitively)
I give this one two thumbs up as it has completely taught my boys the fundamentals they need to now play competitive basketball! The price is great, around $75 for a non-member, $55 for a member I believe. (these prices are not accurate as I am guesstimating the cost since it was last season) You also don't receive uniforms but you do receive a jersey to wear for games. You don't receive a trophy or award unless you go to the end of the season banquet (which we have never done for one reason or another).
Thanks YMCA (South County) for making it a great 4 years! I would definitely recommend this program to my friends and family!

Choosing Your Summer Camp

Summer Camp 2011~ Wow, so many to choose from that involve sports as its core.  I am a mother of 4 children...my boys are 9 and 10 and the girls are 4 and 6.  It's amazing how involved this selection becomes. I can tell you due to experience, that Arnold Recreation offers a summer program that is held at Ferd B. Lang Park in Arnold.  My children attended this last year! It was so wonderful as far as cost was concerned~I believe it was $135 for a two week session and that is absolutely cheap for a summer camp. The only problem I had with it was that it was held outside a majority of the time and mid-summer is VERY hot! The nice thing about that is when heat is above the charts, they take the kids to Arnold Rec where they can swim and play inside. There is a creek at the park that the boys loved playing in, odd they were allowed to do that, but supervised so I allowed it.  Overall a good camp for the price for sure. Probably won't send them back though due to the heat and some conflicts the boys had with other boys.  Due to the age difference that is allowed at the camp (all ages in school), my children felt some issues from the older boys. :(

This year, we have decided to split our time with different summer camps to get a feel of other camps. I need full day camp because of my work schedule so I usually can't participate in the half day camps, etc.  So, we are checking out....drum roll...Vetta this year 2 days per week and YMCA South County for a couple of weeks as of now. Vetta was on the top of my list only due to the "sports" concentration.  There cost for the week is expensive in my opinion only because I work from 8-5 so need before and after care as well, where the cost becomes a little much. ($36 for before and after care per child, per week)  The cost for the camp per day is $36 so we chose 2 days per week on days where we wouldn't need before and after care. They get to play sports (different ones) all day and that means learning new ones as well, along with the traditional swim time.  Now the YMCA seems to be a great deal...$142 for the week for each child but if you register early (before April 16th) you get 10% off, plus their before and after Kids club is $12 for the week~WOW! During that time, they will be playing different sports, crafts, field trips, and swimming. The only thing I don't like is swimming is indoors.

I would love to hear others opinions on summer camps they attended in the past or plan to attend this year! Keeping other moms and dads informed and giving advice to others in the same boat will help I'm sure! So feel free to post some advice for all of us moms (or dads) that are trying to locate that perfect camp for the summer!