I am wearing a new hat these days. In addition to being a worker bee at my job 30 hours a week, I homeschool Zoey and Vivi, I taxi Zoey to her range openings, her ski practices, I am the mommy and the chief cook and bottle washer. And now I am the assistant coach.
Tom has taken on the task of coaching Zoey in biathlon. Right now there is no biathlon coaching happening in Anchorage. These kids have a fantastic range, nice adult volunteers who help them out, but no real program. We are trying to fix that, but in the meantime, we are doing what we can. Tom coaches nordic skiing. He loves to preach the gospel of skiing to kids. He loves to work with kids on the snow and help them succeed. We know nothing of coaching biathlon. Zoey really wants to be a biathlete, not just a skier who shoots. There is a big difference.
Tom has come up with a strength and interval work out that we can do at home. It targets her upper body so that she can control her rifle. It gets her heart rate up so that she can learn to control her breathing. It involves dry firing so she can practice sighting, breathing, shooting. It is fun to do. It also involves me, I am the timer, the motivator and the model (ha, ha). I have never before had to teach someone how to do a push up. It has been an interesting road. Tom has dubbed it the M.D.A.D. which stands for My Dad is A Dork. Zoey loves it. Her control and breathing are getting way better.
The best thing about all of this is that Tom is so excited to share the experience of Arctic Winter Games with Zoey. He is so proud. And he should be.
8 comments:
Trixie love your post today. We are so excited for Zoey. I still wish we were going too.
Later
Mary L
such a perfect way to practice the biathlon! Glad she isn't just a skier who shoots! She's going to be the winner of the Biathlon! Although, where do you have the time to coach? You did forget that you are also a blogger (very important job)
Gee, Trixie. You are all so cool. So many children need people like you and Tom. You do SO MUCH! Zoey is a great girl and blessed to have her inner srength and parents like you.
Just rest a little, please?
it's so cool what the 3 of you are doing-
Tom for giving up what I'm assuming is precious time to help not only his daughter- but other kids- you for acting as cheerleader/motiviator.. taxi driver.. and teacher-
and Zoey for not being afraid of a challenge-
The bottom picture of Vivi says it all---
OMG. I adore your kids.
Such a special relationship of father and daughter. Have you heard the country sound about the father who wanted a son until his daughter was born and now she's the center of his life? Sorry I don't know the name or artist but it's what I thought of when I read your post. Cute photos of Zoey with Vivi.
I love this post--it's all about going the extra mile to make sure your kids get all the opportunities possible. That's the lesson they will carry for a lifetime. You are great parents.
Beth
MDAD - that made me LOL!
I watched a documentary about the 2002 SLC Olympics on Showtime yesterday morning. One of the segments was about a family in Croatia where the dad coached both of his kids in downhill skiing. The daughter won a couple gold medals at the 2002 winter games. It was quite inspiring and the whole family was so supportive and proud of each other. Good luck to all of you!
Post a Comment