Carolina Sports (various) and Rochester Tennis

Aidan plays soccer

Aidan, in black, challenging and winning.

Liam with Aidan after
the match

I was only home from Colorado and Utah for a couple of days when I fly down to Charlotte to visit Liam, Marcie and the kids.  My first day there I got to see Aidan play in a JV soccer match which they won handily.  He played a strong game at mid field and I took a lot of photos.  Frankly I got a little carried away with the super high setting.  To simplify things bit I created a video with many of these as stop actions.  It finishes with a video of Aidan scoring on a penalty kick.  Take a look below.

If you really want to see all 180 photos, click here to view the Google Photos album.

Liam Jacob and football Senior Night

I had scheduled this trip so I could be at Senior Night for the football team.  Liam is a captain and starter as linebacker and sometimes wide receiver.  Unfortunately a couple of weeks after I booked my flight, he suffered a concussion and had to stay out of school for a week and at least a couple of weeks out of practice.  Once he was cleared to returned, he decided that with only a few games left it wasn't worth the risk of another injury.  So I got to spend time visiting with him about the college search process since he was around the house more than would have been the case if he had practice every day.  Come spring I will get to see him play lacrosse; he is also a captain of that team.

He did participate in Senior Night along with his mom and dad and brother Aidan who is a kicker for the football team.  The video below is his introduction.

You can see more photos of the night by clicking here.

Marin plays soccer
The morning after Senior Night we had an early call to get to Marin's soccer match in Statesville about an hour and fifteen minutes north.  It was a brisk morning with plenty of dew on the fields.  Marin played a good game once she got in but they were over matched by the other team which was from the same soccer club, Charlotte Soccer Academy.  She is a defender and had plenty to keep her busy in this game.

You can see these photos by clicking here for the Google Photos album.

Eibhlin does gymnastics

Finally Eibhlin had gymnastics practice that afternoon back in Charlotte after we all got back.  Rather than practicing in the instructors gym, they had access to the gymnastics area at a local YMCA where I have seen her compete.  As a result I was able to get some very nice photos and a video of her floor routine and some other events.

As you can see in the photo to the left, her hair continues to grow and now provides some very interesting images.

The video below shows all the photos and the videos.

Brynne plays tennis

Meanwhile, back in Rochester this September and October, I got to watch Brynne play tennis.  She was a singles player on the Junior Varsity at Victor High School.  It was wonderful watching her in her matches.  Several times she came back from a first set loss to win the match by taking the second and third set.

As you can see, she really gets into her serve.  There was a noticeable improvement in her serve from the first match through the season.  As with most of her endeavors, she is fierce competitor and yet maintains her sweetness...unless you are on the other side of the net.  Actually she was sweet even then.

You can see many photos of her matches by clicking here to view the Google Photos album.

And here is some video.

But wait there will be more.  I leave in the morning for Beckley WV where Braden and her high school team is competing again in the state girls high school soccer championships.  They won the tournament last year.  My hopes are high but it will be exciting, perhaps even more exciting that last year.  More later.