Every Day is a Gift

To our surprise and delight, the CIAC and the Central Connecticut Conference were able to pull off a post season for high school athletes.  The traditional courses and experiences were not meant to be - there were no large races, no class championship games - but it seemed as if the athletes were all just so grateful to be part of one more race, one more game, that it didn't matter.

As the days of November ticked by, and more and more students and teams were required to quarantine due to potential COVID19 exposure, we became increasingly anxious that one or both of our girls would not be able to finish out their season.  Every night, when I put the girls to bed, I would say to them "every day is a gift", to remind them that they had completed one more day of normalcy - one more day of in person learning, one more day of seeing friends, one more day of playing the sports they love.

In cross country, the CCC teams competed against their division schools (8 team pods) in dual meets held at the same location over the course of an afternoon.  The times were then combined to division champions were crowned.  Elizabeth did not run a PR at the championship race, but she did run a PR for that particular course.  Her team finished 4th out of 8 teams, which was very good for their program.

Sprinting the home stretch.

On the soccer side, the CCC crowned division champions.  NWC finished the regular season at 7-1-1, was the number one team in their division and ended up playing Hall High School, the only team to beat them during the regular season, in the first round of the tournament.  Leading up to the Hall game, Emily had several very good practices and earned a spot in the starting lineup for the post season.  She played 76 out of 80 minutes as NWC beat Hall 3-1 to advance to the championship game.

If you don't take a bathroom selfie with your best friend, is it really game day?

Announced in the starting lineup.

The national anthem.

Pregame prayer.

 

This is my favorite play from this game.  The girl Emily stripped the ball from is playing D1 next year in college and the give and go is with her best friend.  Everything about this play shows how much her confidence has grown.

Post game ritual (especially after Hall) for these freshmen.

On Saturday, November 14th, NWC met Simsbury in the championship game.  In two prior meetings during the regular season, they had tied 1-1 and NWC won 2-1 - these were two very evenly matched teams.  The result was the most exciting soccer we've ever seen (Lee, who usually sits in a chair during games, stood and paced the entire time).  At the end of 80 minutes, the game was tied at 1-1 (and not without drama, as what appeared to be the game winner for NWC was called off 45 seconds after the goal was scored); at the end of two 10 minute overtimes, the game was tied at 2-2. And so the game was decided by penalty kicks.  It went down to the last PK, with a senior captain who is the heart and soul of the team and a tremendous mentor to Emily, calmly taking the final shot of the game and winning it for NWC.  There wasn't a dry eye at the field that afternoon, as all of the emotions of an uncertain season came pouring out of the players, coaches, parents and anyone else that was close enough to the field to watch.  Emily started the final game and played the full 100 minutes, digging down deep to close out the game as the defense held off a relentless Simsbury attack. 

Until a few hours before the game, the NWC field was unplayable and so the location of the championship game was up in the air.  Ultimately, they were able to play at home.

Announced as a starter in the biggest game of her life.  She was nervous, but I was far more nervous - being the parent of a freshman defender is no joke.

Nothing like celebrating a goal.

Overtime huddle - COVID rules out the window, the girls were full on hugging during the team prayer.

PKs.  Emily was so thankful it did not go beyond the first five PKs, as she was slated to take the 7th PK.

The game winning PK and ensuing madness.  

Champions!

Freshmen varsity BFFs.

Her Sporting besties came to watch and cheer her on.

Between us, Lee and I attended every cross country race and soccer game this season in person - mostly together, but at times we split up so that both girls had a parent cheering them on.  We snuck in to more facilities this fall than we've probably snuck into our entire lives, even standing in bushes in the pouring rain to watch one soccer game. It was worth every second because we got to see our girls do what they love and experience a bit of normalcy in what has become anything but a normal time.