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Gymnastics Dad

The Rewards Of Being A Gymnastics Dad

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I probably should have written this story sooner but life is busy sometimes, okay, so back off!! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. You guys are great! I’ve told the story before of how my daughter was the first girl born into my dad’s side of the family in over 70 years, so my entire journey of fathering a daughter to date has been new, challenging, rewarding and amazing.

One of the many differences has been with my daughter’s choice of extra-curricular activities. I played hockey and baseball for as long as I can remember and my son followed in those same footsteps, even though I tried to get him to try other sports. My daughter, however, found her love in gymnastics, and man is she ever good at it! Every time I see her do a new move, it feels like the most incredible feat I have ever seen.

Although I know nothing about gymnastics, I still like being a part of the gym and help out whenever I can. My daughter’s coach, knowing that I try to be a team player, had asked me if I would do a little performance with my daughter for the Christmas showcase and naturally, I agreed. The idea was simply that my daughter would do a move and I would then try to replicate that move in front of all the parents and children in attendance. Easy enough, right?

Well, what actually ended up happening was that my daughter and I ended up choreographing an entire routine to surprised everyone in attendance. A couple notes about this. First, I was waaaay more nervous than I expected I would be, which then caused my foot to cramp up minutes before we went on. Second, the video below was posted to Facebook and now has over 2 million views, which is crazy! Finally, no, I don’t know how I nailed that first cartwheel and failed so badly on the other. I’m guessing it was a combination of age and lack of grace…

Luckily for me, there wasn’t too much pain the next day, although I’m guessing the shock of the video going viral probably helped. We never expected so many people to love the routine but I am so grateful that everyone got to see just how talented my little girl is! I wasn’t sure about this gymnastics thing when she started in it but it has ended up being an extremely important and rewarding part of our lives.

So, without further ado, and if you haven’t seen it, please enjoy what was one of the best nights of my life!

Hockey Kid

It’s Not About Me. It’s Not About Me. It’s Not…

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Letting go of things is hard for me, but with the help of my kids I’m learning. My son is a fairly athletic kid. He actually reminds me a lot of myself at his age. Good at everything but not quite a superstar at anything, yet. It’s a good spot to be in.

He plays house league hockey and has been having a lot of fun, which is the point, right? I used to sign him up for extra skating sessions and camps but this season he told me he doesn’t want to do any of the extra stuff because he doesn’t enjoy it. He said he still loves hockey, just not the extra things.

Although I fought him on it a little bit, I ultimately respected his wishes and stopped booking extra stuff. I guess I just see that he has so much potential and want him to be able to unleash it as he grows. The thing is, he’s happier without it, and it took me until this season to realize that that’s enough. In fact, that’s everything.

MVP Hockey

All smiles with his MVP award!

I didn’t get picked as a coach this year, so I get to watch from the stands. I find myself holding my breath with anticipation of my son’s next turn on the ice. He works so hard out there and makes me proud every single shift. I’m serious, between his work on the ice and his sister’s in the gym, I’m ashamed of the amount of time I waste in my daily life.

The point here being, we all want our kids to be the best at the things they choose to love, but it needs to be on their terms. We stopped doing the extra ice times and yet he is still excelling because he loves the sport and works his tail off. Sure, it took me a while to figure it all out but I’ve arrived at the point of acceptance and it has been a fun ride watching him smile out there!

I’m never more proud than when other parents come up to me after a game to let me know that they think my son played great. If only he was this enthusiastic about his homework…

Under Armour Trampoline

The Importance Of Sports In Our Lives

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It’s funny to look back and remember a time when I was worried that my kids wouldn’t love sports the same way I had as a child. I’ve made a conscious effort not to push them down any path they didn’t want to venture down but it seems as though the sports bug has attached itself to them and I couldn’t be happier.

Don’t get me wrong, had they decided to love computer programming, science or cooking, we would have figured out a way to support them and learn it together, but I’m extremely happy that they have chosen sports as their hobbies of choice. Balancing sports, meal planning and life schedules isn’t always easy but we have found a way to make it work for everyone so far.

Julia UA Gymnastics

The lessons they have learned through sport are invaluable as we see them growing more confident in all aspects of their lives each and every day. For our son, who is playing hockey, track & field and competitive baseball, he is learning to become a leader by demonstrating a determination that I am constantly surprised by. As a competitive gymnast and soccer player, our daughter has a focus and drive that she definitely did not get from either one of us and we know she is destined for something very special someday.

As parents we get the incredible opportunity to watch the kids beam with pride as all of their hard work pays off in different ways and it is the greatest feeling in the world. Some people see chaos in all of this but all the shuttling, travel, hotels, weather and bills are worth the friendships, laughter, fun, competition and personal growth that come with being a sports family and I wouldn’t trade a single thing.

Lucas Under Armour Baseball

The kids were really excited when I told them that Under Armour and Sport Chek were looking for their 2018 Team UA NEXT Canadian Youth Ambassadors and we started planning out our audition video right way. All 7 to 12 year-old hard-working athletes are eligible to compete to become the face of Under Armour in a brand campaign at Sport Chek stores across Canada and can submit a nomination by visiting TeamUAnext.ca!

The winning boy and girl will join the elite roster of Under Armour athletes and serve as a youth ambassador for the brand. In addition to being featured in the brand campaign, winners will receive exclusive access to Under Armour gear. Parents, guardians, mentors and coaches have until August 31, 2017 to nominate a young athlete online at TeamUAnext.ca.

For more information on TEAM UA NEXT Canada powered by Sport Chek, or to submit a nomination, visit TeamUAnext.ca. You can follow along and share at the @UnderArmourNext Instagram page as well. Also check out Sport Chek on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as Under Armour on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #TAKEYOURSPOT and #UANEXTCANADA.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this campaign.