Adulting

Great news! Evan took two of the hardest classes for freshmen this past semester.  He attended study sessions, tutoring, and office hours. He crammed for tests and did every page of the homework in the workbook; all of his hard work paid off! He conquered the dreaded chem class, he mastered the hated calculus class, and he made the Dean’s list again this semester. 

He is in week two of his internship at a local physical therapy office. He works four hours a day. After his first day, he texted me this:

"This internship is literally going to teach me more about kinesiology in a summer than my whole undergrad, easily."

Look at how professional he is! This is important because we attended a grad party Friday night, and he went in sweat pants with a rip in the butt. He left the house yesterday in a shirt with two holes in the front. We went round and round about it, so it pleases me to see he can dress appropriately when it matters the most! 

On the weekends, he is reffing 3v3 soccer tournaments. He’s still finding plenty of time to swim, fish, and hang out with friends. 

I’m so proud of him! 

Soccer Banquet

Tonight was the end of season soccer banquet. We had a delicious bbq dinner, awards, recognitions, and photo opps. Keagan was recognized as a second (third) time Varsity letter recipient and for making the All District Team. 

Keagan and Coach Ramsey

Varsity Letter Recipients

All District Team

Junior Class players

Keagan with team plaques

Keagan and Wes

We have one week off, and then we gear up for travel ball. 

The Marines Called

I was at the pool for almost three hours wondering what the boys were doing inside. No basketball bouncing in the driveway. No porch-side NBA podcasts playing. No swimming on this hot day. “What are they doing?” I wondered. 

One inside, I figured out why it was so quiet. 

Clue #1: 

Clue #2:

Clue #3:

Add barber skills to Keagan’s resume. 

Region 7 AAA Champions

We didn’t just win. We dominated Henry County with a score of 8-0, and we came home with the regional championship plaque. There were lots of emotions and thoughts going through the boys’ minds while on the two hour bus ride to the field - nervous, angst, excitement, hopeful. 

After the first goal was scored so quickly, the negative emotions visibly faded away. The boys played with absolute confidence, and it was down hill for Henry Co after that. It was a night of celebrations - celebrating goals, celebrating team work, celebrating a big win - all captured by the photographer. 

Team Captains - Keagan said before every game he gives the back line a phrase that becomes the focus for their play or a common goal for the back four to strive for. Last night’s mantra was “defend together.” If this doesn’t mean he’s destined to coach one day…He’s a natural. 

The win secures a home game for sectionals on Saturday night. Go Hawks!!!

Year One is in the Books

Evan completed his last final today at 3:00 and he’s now officially classified as a sophomore. What a year! There are so many great things that have happened in his first year away at college: his Christian fraternity / small group, rush/pledgeship with AGR, successful SEC sports seasons, intramurals, living in a dorm (although he might find that questionable), Dean’s list, and making new friends. It’s so wonderful to watch your teen launch, be happy, and find success - even if they come home with questionable booty cut-off shorts and baseball hats with “Daddy” on the crown.

He’s now home with us for the entire summer, and I’m so happy to have him back (even if he doubles our grocery bill and keeps his room a complete unorganized mess). He begins his internship with a local physical therapist on Monday. He’s working part-time at a place yet to be identified (this means he has no job yet but he promises to find something), and there will be plenty of this in the coming months!

Keagan is the happiest to have him home. 

Sub-Regionals

Our district championship on Thursday earned us a spot in the next round of play, Regionals. Tonight we played the first round and hosted Dickson. 

We came out on top with a 3-1 win. We had 32 shots! 32!! And scored 3. But a win is a win. 

We had soccer friends in the stands supporting us. Here is Keagan’s “little brother” Konner.

Our next game is Thursday night where we will play in the Regional Championship. 

District 13- AAA Champions

We did it! Rossview is the District 13-AAA champion! We avenged last year’s loss to Northeast and won tonight 2-1. Keagan typically shows very little emotion during a game - he’s very even keeled. Case in point.

But after three months of trash talk among players and all of the polls ranking us well below our talent level, the final whistle blew and Keagan was pure joy! He led the team to a celebratory run to the corner of the field in front of the student section. 

In the first half, Keagan scored a PK to put us up by two goals.

I haven’t seen this extension in a long while. In fact, I had to blow up the pic to make sure it was actually Keagan. The squishy knee is less squishy and is as healthy as his knees can be. This is the very best time for him to be playing well!

He was selected for the District’s All Tournament Team! This is a great accomplishment since he hasn’t played much the last few months; he’s been in a valley both physically and mentally. This honor was a great confidence booster! He scored three goals and had an assist in this week’s tournament. 

We advance next week to Regional play. 

I think God must be a Hawks fan, too! Look at that red in the sky!

Headed to the ‘Ship

We are headed to the district championship game! We won tonight’s semi 4-0. K was awarded an assist and a goal. I got this one on video!

https://youtu.be/nO0nMv3w8m4

I texted Evan the video and this was his response:

Evan posted the same clip to his IG story with “Brexit means Brexit 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🍻”. Keagan had to explain to me it means to go hard, play hard. 

I love how Evan is his biggest fan, his biggest cheerleader! 

He’s Back…

The black cloud that has been hanging over Keagan since his MCL sprain lifted tonight. I felt like this was his best game of the season. He played left / right back tonight and started the game with a lot of confidence. He was running with speed and a smoothness we haven’t seen in a while. 

He and his left wing were able to communicate well and Keagan had several really great overlap runs. One of the overlaps put him the box with a shot that came off the goalie’s foot. Keagan got the assist when his teammate volleyed it in.

 The highlight of the evening was his first goal of the season. A PK. It landed perfectly in the corner of the back of the net. 

However, it was senior night and I ran to the concession stand to pick up flowers for the half time presentation and wasn’t able to record the shot. 😢  I at least got back to the field just in time to see the shot go in. 

What a game, but what a week I’ve had! I’m past sleep deprived and nearing exhaustion. I need some serious sleep! But I’ll happily take exhaustion if it means I get to see more games and more goals. 

We Are N

We have been waiting years for today to come to fruition. We have been supporters of the local soccer team since 2016 when the team played USL. Years ago we signed petitions to bring MLS soccer to Nashville. We saw that happen and were in the stands as season ticket holders in 2018. We signed petitions in 2019 to have a soccer specific stadium built in Nashville, and we were there this afternoon for opening day! We witnessed not only the first game in the stadium but also the first goal. 

We are N!