CYC basketball vs. YMCA For Toddlers

We have had experience now with both of these organizations.  I can honestly say that YMCA is far better as far as instructional basketball goes.  CYC does not have practices (required practices) in their toddler program where YMCA does.  I think practice tends to be one of the more important requirements due to the fact that they can't play a game if they don't know the rules.  Clearly, at this age, they are not going to abide by the rules but they can definitely be instructed to do so. 

The games are 45 minutes at CYC and YMCA.  The cost for CYC is much less than YMCA...$25 for CYC, $54 at YMCA.  Although I do believe in this case, you get what you paid for.  But....I do love the parent camaraderie that comes along with CYC events!

Overall, if you're looking to have some socialization with other adults and just want your kid to have fun and be active, CYC toddler basketball is the way to go.  If you're looking for instruction, for your child to learn the game basics, then YMCA is definitely the place to go.

Personalizing Sports Bags, Headbands, Etc.~~~ Yeah!

I love the accessories you can buy for your children now for sports!  Especially girls headbands for soccer, volleyball, baseball and basketball!  I just recently had headbands embroidered with the girls' names on them! So cute, one with their name on them and the other with I Love Soccer!  They are sooooo cheap and great to be able to pin point where your child is on the field!  I had my son's baseball bags personalized since so many of them have the same bags...they love them!  You can add their number or whatever you would like them to say! 

Occassionally, I'll buy a jacket for me them have it personalized with my children's numbers or team name on them (roughly $10)! 

Here's a great website to take a look at for personalizing your children's or your sports wear!
http://www.embroidery4ustl.com/wp/

Sports Photography~ Love it!

If you love to take pictures of your children or even if you are a bad picture taker....everyone loves to see the pictures of your children playing sports!  When I take the pictures, it's usually from afar and can barely see faces.  But the past couple of years, many photographers have came to games and taken close-ups of all the kids playing.  It's awesome!  I love the action shots, seeing the sweat drop down their faces or their faces during a "glory moment"! 

I decided to look a few photographers up that do this type of work along with those who take snap shots or produce a "story" for your child of their big day! 

This past summer, while at one of children's baseball tournament, St. Louis Digital was there!  They were awesome...had a tent set up with computers to scroll through all the pic's of the weekend.  Their prices were pretty expensive but they offered so many products with your child in action!  One of my favorites was an action poster....it looked like a pro athlete's poster you would purchase in a store.  (but again...pricey!)
Here's a link to their site..... http://www.stldigital.com/stldigital/Action_Event_Photos.html
Studio Altius is a lot like them...they are the official CYC sports photographers.  Take a look at their work and compare prices, very similar. http://www.athletephotography.com/
Kowal Photography is a much smaller company but offers still photos and action photos as well.  A la carte, their prices are good! http://www.kowalphotography.com/
St. Louis Sports Photo is also a smaller company but offers still photos and action photos too.  He's pretty awesome, doesn't charge to photograph games etc...no obligation to purchase...just inform him of game time and he will be there! Wow!!! http://stlsportsphoto.com/index.html
If you're looking for an awesome high school sports photographer, look no further than Nordmann's...since 1993! Amazing pictures!  Follow their facebook page also!  http://www.nordmannsports.com/

There are a few photographers who do still photos only...for teams and individuals...fairly priced.
Gold's Photo http://www.goldsphoto.com/

The one I really like...but does not have her photos up as of yet due to construction on her site...is Jessica Ebeler Photography.  She has attended many of my children's sporting events and produced pictures for me that tell a story of my child's day from beginning to end!  She focused only on them and captured facial expressions that told me what they were thinking.  She froze time for me and when I look back at those pictures, I can see my child's character within...his determination, his perseverance, his doubt, his glory!  She's down to earth and extremely well priced!  Just take a minute to call her...you'll see why I feel this way!  Not only did she photograph our children in sports but later led to family pictures, etc...lol. :)  Check her out....http://www.jessicaebeler.com/  (Her site in under construction right now but take a look at her facebook page in the mean time)  http://www.facebook.com/playkidsports#!/jessicaebelerphotography

Hope you enjoyed my sports photography run-down! :)  I just love seeing the sports pics!!! Hope you do too!

CYC Soccer

We are into CYC soccer now with the girls!  

I was surprised at how many programs there were for toddler girls soccer.   We tried a couple different programs such as YMCA and Riverchase but have always reverted back to CYC.  Their programs is much less competitive.  Not that we don't love competition but our girls aren't quite as competitive when it comes to the actual game of soccer.  CYC offers smaller numbers per team and a much smaller field to play on, especially at age 3-5.  Now that our oldest is in CYC league soccer, the field is regular size and more members per team.  Which is nice because she is a little more competitive this year.

We also love how cheap the CYC leagues are as well!  $25 for Pre-K and $50 for K and up! Wow!!!

Overall, I highly recommend CYC soccer leagues for non-competitive play levels!   The girls enjoy it and we love watching them!!!

To Have Your Child Play Mulitple Sports or Not?

As you may have guessed, my children all play multiple sports and at one time some times...very hard on scheduling but it does happen!  I always wondered if it was too much?  If we are wearing ourselves thin or perhaps is it a bad choice to play so many different sports and not hone in on just one!  Of course I see skills already that may signal that they are better in one sport or the other but does that mean they should only play that one sport?  I decided to do a little reading on this to make sure it wasn't hindering them to play multiple sports.

I came across this article, http://www.mnyouthsoccer.org/membership/rents/multiple_sports.pdf, which was very insightful and thought other parents may want to read it!

Currently, I think we will continue to play multiple sports and hopefully it will be beneficial for our children in the end.  I do honestly believe they learn a variety of skills and disciplines by playing different sports.  This rings true when I think of football~ it is very disciplined and time consuming.  It's gut wrenching at times, teaches true team work and teaches them to persevere through it!  I love watching them play, cheering their teammates on and working through the hard parts! 

As a parent, we want to teach our children everything...but sometimes, coaches among other leaders in our communities have a large part to do with our children learning life skills they will need in the future! 

Vetta Summer Camp~Concord

We completed our last "summer camp" this past week!  Vetta was a hit with the boys!  The staff was very into the kids, excited and fun! They participated in so many activities, soccer, swimming, programs such as an animal guy coming to Vetta with alligators, snakes and tarantulas! Wow!  They had face painting, games, and talent shows. 

They boys enjoyed this camp the most out of all of the summer camps they attended this year.  They said all the kids that attended were cool and they loved the facility!  Overall, I'm very pleased with this camp but the cost is a bit higher than most!  It cost $80 for 2 days a week, not including your registration fee of $30 for the family.  But, I will defnitely send them again next summer! Go Vetta!

Roller Hockey...Who Knew???

Roller Hockey...had no clue it was even an organized and competitive sport until we started developing our website, http://www.playkidsports.com/.   In fact, St. Louis is known as the roller hockey hot bed!    St. Louis has produced some of the top roller hockey players in the world, players such as Paul Stastny, Pat Maroon, Travis Turnbull, PJ Tallo, and JP Beilsten to list a few!


All of these guys were associated with the Missouri Inline Hockey Association (MOIHA).  MOIHA developed in 1997 and has done wonders for the world on inline roller hockey for youth.  Be sure to check their website out http://www.moiha.org/ for more information.


Roller Hockey has more popular in the nation...with well over 100 schools supporting the sport.  Bummer thing about this is that even though it's played, it is not recognized as a varsity sport as of now.  Therefore, when considering college scholarships, not many Universities offer them for roller hockey.  You can however receive college scholarships from private funding sources.... I'm excited to learn more about roller hockey and would love to get my children involved!  Our niece plays and we loved watching!  Would be fun to go watch the University of Missouri Tritons play, as they placed 2nd in the nation this year!!!  Wow!  Who knew right???
So, something to think about for sure as it is becoming a rapid growing sport played by colleges!  Go Tritons!