Does anyone else have a child who competes at a high level in a sport? I'd like a general moaning thread!!

[isthisanacidtest]

Like today. She was supposed to be tidying up and hoovering but disappeared off to train all day and hasn't come home yet.

She is dedicated. I'm very proud of her. But ....

the early starts

the mountains of food

the constant kit to wash

the running here there and everywhere

the whole family getting put on hold to the god of sport

Sometimes it just gets a bit depressing and hard work. For me, not her! She loves it

[BitchyVstheUFOs]

Weekly comps all over half the fecking country.

Training that drags on and on disclaimer I bore easily and do not have the balance of stuff to do right yet

training camps which hold you captive on site

Ds is not a high level competitor but loves his sport and wants to be a high level sport competitor.

[Pagwatch]

Not having a free fucking weekend ever ....

[isthisanacidtest]

It sucks doesn't it Bitchy?

I'm very proud of her - but oh my dear goodness it is soul sucking.

Drive to training session 2 hours away. Session lasts 4 hours so no point to go home. So stuck in random place for ages with nothing to do.

Thank God for MN and tablet!

[BitchyVstheUFOs]

Oh god and the kit he has stinks, badly and it has to be aired weekly as it can't be washed. The dining room is unuseable, if you could find it from under the exercise ball, mat, skipping rope, medicine ball, resistance bands etc etc

[isthisanacidtest]

Pagwatch - yep that too.

And the one weekend you think you have free she "made a mistake" and the training you thought was local is actually at that place 2 hours away

that actually happened about a month ago

[isthisanacidtest]

stinking kit.. I got conned by some expensive shoite in Tesco that said it would wash the smell out, because of course, it all has to be washed at 30 degrees which isn't enough to get out stinky sweaty smells especially when the bottom half is commando in the shorts (YUKK). It was expensive. And crap.

[Pagwatch]

Yy
Also helping her do her homework at 10.00 pm after so many hours training she barely knows her name or putting her to bed knowing she'll have to get up at 6.0 to do it .

[BitchyVstheUFOs]

" Pagwatch Mon 21-Jul-14 20:31:44

Not having a free fucking weekend ever ...."

Yes Pag This!

[KatyMac]

me too

The washing

The smell

The early starts (after late finishes)

The lack of weekends

The food, the worrying about food, the cost of the food (that has to be transportable over several days without sight of a fridge)

The lack of time at home to do basic stuff (tidying room, homework, eating, sleeping, having a birthday party)

God yes the being stuck in one place because it costs too much in time/petrol to come home & go back again

The cost of all the kit (next years list is over £500)



& she doesn't do any real 'sport'

[isthisanacidtest]

Oh yes I've done that - just write it down like I told you at 11pm or she does it on the bus or something.

Making packed lunches on the weekend. I HATE making packed lunches Mon-Fri and training means she needs monster ones on the weekends as well.

Also. Training will be finished at 8 mum can you pick me up. I'm dutifully there at 8 like a tit outside waiting. And she comes sauntering out at 8.25 no rush dawdle dawdle

[BitchyVstheUFOs]

Only thing that I found have worked for stinky kit is soda crystals in the wash. Careful because if you add to the machine drawer and put tooo much in the machine vomits bubbles Does work well though ex was involved in much sport it was essential

[500smiles]

Not sport but dancing, so we don't even have the advantage of enjoying the outdoors occasionally as competitions are in stuffy halls / theatres

Her costumes cost more than the dress I wore to get married in.

I could retrain as a hair stylist / make up artist from all the practise I have had on her.

Having to be up at 5am or spend a fortune on hotels as events usually start at 8am on weekends.

[isthisanacidtest]

I will get soda crystals - I saw them in our local discount shite shop yesterday - thanks for that!

[BitchyVstheUFOs]

Table spoonish is normally enough. If it is vary fragile a slightly larger amount of bicarb of soda works - (half a tub in a bath tub for when I have time to destink ds' kit and get it dry)

500 forgetting what daylight looks like in the winter.

knowing rules to things that you never thought you needed to know

Being roped into roles at the club to help out which means you lose more of your time if you had any.

Knowing that as ds is not yet in high school you have years of this to come

Tears when they don't do as well as they expect and don't come home with a trophy

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

I am intrigued what sports they all do now.

[KatyMac]

For DD it's dance - it used to be Ballroom & Latin competitions now it's Ballet, Tap, Contemporary, Jazz, African, Salsa and Ballroom & Latin but next year should be easier for us....if not DD

[Misfitless]

What sports do everyone else's DCs do?

And are we talking any potential future Olympians? Where's the nosy cow emoticon?

Well done to all you parents, it must be tough...but when they've all got gold medals / won Wibledon / The Masters / Badminton / The Tour de France / dancing equivalent accolades..and they're mentioning you in their speeches, it'll all be worth it!

I'm never going to moan when I have to drag DDs up the road to watch DS play football on a Sunday in the rain ever again!

[isthisanacidtest]

DD is a niche sport. She is representing at national level in a team. But she's just about to turn 16 and plays all the "normal" sports at school/county level as well - ie running, 100 200 400m, high jump, long jump, triple jump, hockey, netball, cross country running. She dropped tennis because she couldn't fit it all in

Neither me nor her dad are athletic at all - her dad turns out on a sunday for the local cricket club but that's really it.

[isthisanacidtest]

I forgot the point of my coming on to moan!

She came home from training last night with information about yet another competition which is a whole weekend 3 hours away. Matches on the Saturday and the Sunday, first match on the Saturday 9am so they will have to go down on the Friday night. And she won't be home until late on Sunday.

There's three of us from this general area who can share lifts, but we are all spread around about an hours area, so even if she gets a lift I have to drive a minimum of 20 minutes away to pick her up.

[Ragwort]

Yes, my DS plays sport at county level (no not future Olympic standard ) - it does take up a huge amount of time and effort but for us the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

We just have the one child so don't have to fit his training/matches etc around other children so that is a real bonus. Also DH tends to do most of the transporting etc which suits him (and me ).

Kit is expensive but is always Christmas/birthday presents from us and generous grandparents so that solves the dilema of what to buy a teenage boy as a present!

I am so much happier that he is out and about playing sport rather than his other 'hobby' which is playstation games .

It can be occasionally useful as a genuine excuse to get out of boring invitations/commitments at weekends !!!

Win win

[nowitscleanugobshite]

Can I join too please? It's hockey in our house-DD and DS. And it's soooo hard to be in two places at once esp when stbxh is always "busy" when it comes to giving lifts!! And too tight when it comes to helping buy the ridiculously priced gear! The amount of travelling is unreal esp for DS who plays school/club/province at his age level. And they both can have 4 training sessions/3 matches per week. Thankfully DD drives now so occasionally she can help out!!

[lecherrs]

Yes, although DD is at a decent level, she's not at Olympic standard.

DD1 (10) trains 18 hours a week and DD2 (7) trains 6. Different types of gymnastics, so they train different days of the week. Whilst DD2 is likely to go further, that's because she does rhythmic and that is less popular than artistic (DD1) so I think it's easier to make it to the top when there are not so many competitors vying for the same goal.

Even so, I'm there 7 days a week, including every weekend morning, for anything up to four hours at a time. It totally dominates our lives, and DD1 will never become an Olympic gymnast (although her current aim is to become a coach and judge, and that is achievable).

The things I find hardest is when friends organise get togethers and we can never go, because we're always at gym, constantly having to think in the morning when I leave for work at 8am what am I going to give the girls for tea, and taking it with me so I can microwave their food during the day (we batch cook, then reheat main meals), their constantly eating tea in the car (they eat in the car x5 days a week), and the constant shelling out of money. On top of gym, DD1 also does a very little bit of competition dancing. We keep that very low key, but if I'm not paying out for gym, it's for dancing! Then there's the competitions - getting up at ridiculous o'clock to take her to a comp on a Sunday morning. Thankfully DD1's comps are usually within a 3 hour radius, but I understand that DD2s comps will be anywhere in the country.

Of course, I am incredibly proud of my daughters and they can do some amazing tricks, but if I had known what I was really signing up for when I let her join the little development class at 5, I think I would run a mile .

[500smiles]

Being vague as don't want to out myself like I usually do, but DD does a form of national dancing better known, and derided for it's OTT pageanty look, when actually it is amazingly physically demanding.

It's never going to lead to fame and fortune, but she was on the podium at the British Champs this year so she's not too shabby at it for an under 11.

[turdfairynomore]

Nice work!! Be proud! My DD used to run for NI and it's great to watch events on TV and say "you used to run with her"!! Commonwealths will have lots of her old training mates and sparring partners!! She gave it up at 17 to concentrate on hockey. Can't say I miss cleaning the cross country gear!!!