Quintin is my youngest son, he’s four.

This was his second year in team sports. Last year soccer was mostly about running away from Daddy for some reason… I don’t know why that made sense to him, I guess mostly because he had to share the ball and I hadn’t gotten around to that particular life lesson yet.

This year soccer was his Favourite Thing Ever.

He was too young for T-ball last year, so I was a little wary of signing him up this year. But damn if it didn’t turn out that baseball is now his Favourite Thing Ever as well.

And it turns out he’s really good at both.

…there were no low-cost organized youth team sports in Vankleek Hill this Spring and Summer. The Champlain Sports Something or Other, which rented fields and organized volunteer coaches under the auspices of the Township of Champlain Recreation & Leisure Department [link], was cancelled last year.

For years it basically ran the kind of youth soccer and T-ball leagues where no one keeps score and everyone gets a trophy, and even used to provide funding assistance for low-income families.

So a small but plucky group of volunteers got together and created the Vankleek Hill Sports Club ‘Phys.Ed 101’ program [link] which teaches the fundamentals of a range of sports… including lacrosse, rugby, gymnastics, basketball, baseball and soccer, for the reasonable cost of $120 for the year [link].

It’s mostly anarchy, but the kids do eventually pick up the rules of each sport, so it’s cool.

Quintin (wondering why I’m on the computer typing this out and not getting him chips): “Ugh… this is taking for a long time.”
Me: “Yes, yes it is.”

So:

…click on the photo if you want to see a larger version.

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