2 Weeks Behind

Our recent move put a halt on alot of stuff... including our blog! I've thought several times that I should stop and send out an update on all the Hollingsworth happenings but it just didn't happen! In an effort to catch you up, I'll start with football:)

Our games on September 3rd were both against Durham. They always have strong, competitive teams and they played their best. Mitey Mite Red (Noah's team) lost 22-0. A not-so-pretty score, but I was excited to see the players holding their heads high after the game and shaking off their loss. They also had to say goodbye to a team mate who's family is moving to Atlanta.

Jr. Midget Red defeated Durham with a score of 12-0. This was a huge win for our guys since many of these Durham players were on a team that went to Nationals in Orlando last season. We will face them again later in the season and I'm sure they will be ready!

On September 10th, Noah's team played Apex. This Apex team consisted of a bunch of players who were older (mostly 9 yr. olds) who all played last year. They were well coached and played hard and some of their fans were very spirited... by that I mean competitive and loud and did not want to lose. It all came out in the last few minutes of the game. The score had been 0-0 the whole time. A little bit of a slow game considering these fellas are learning and many (on our team) are new to football. It seemed that they predominantly stayed on one end of the field most of the game! We had several failed attempts to score but in the last 30 seconds of the game we got the ball back and slowly. moved. down. the. field! It was 3rd down and goal and with 13 seconds on the clock, Bulldogs SCORE!! The extra kick is good (which counts for 2 points) and the Bulldogs win 8-0. Those spirited Apex fans were not happy and proud to show it...

... and speaking of spirited fans... I arrived late for Evan's game (already in the 3rd quarter) because I was with Noah at his game... only to find drama at our home field. Evan's team was playing a Wake Forest team and there had been some delays in the game because our team was accused of not playing all the players. Each player must get a minimum of 8 plays each game. We have 2 play counters on each sideline who are only there to count plays and document it on the official Pop Warner sheet. These are the rules. Every game. No exceptions. So, the volunteer from the "other side" was on our sideline insisting we were not following the rules. The game was stopped. Officials came to check and basically stayed on the sidelines for the remainder of the game. Clearly, we were not cheating. Our coach wants to beat you fair and square. That's just what we did. Bulldogs won 28-0 not even playing the best players for the second half of the game. Enough said about that!

We are really proud of how our boys are learning to win and lose with grace. How they see the benefits of practice and hard work. How they are learning to put forth their very best in all things. How they are encouraging others and learning commitment. I'm pretty much convinced that this season of football will change our hearts and attitudes about many things to come...