This weekend was his 1st competition of spring. The tournament was in Kitchener (about 90 min away) and we were on deck to check in at 8am on Saturday. Given Toronto traffic, the start of spring break and the fact that Mike, Frankie, Grace and Lucy live near Kitchener, we made a weekend of it. Tom headed over with the kids int he afternoon and they swam in the pool. We then met the crew for dinner at an Irish Pub (or figure) and got caught up. The girls were enthralled with teh VERY cute drummer in the band saying he looked like Justin Timberlake. I thought he looked more like Daniel Radcliff (Harry Potter) but what do I know. Jimmy was not impressed with the drummer skills, but it was fun to see a live band perform in an Irish Pub. Billy was begging to go back to the hotel (should have been my 1st clue) and so we called it a night and watched Diners Drive Ins and Dives in the hotel while Kay ate Ben & Jerrys. Sounds like the good life, eh? :)
The next morning, as we were getting ready, Billy started to complain about his throat. We figured it was just sleeping in a dry/hot hotel, so we pumped him up and set off.
In the tournament, Billy did amazing, taking bronze in pomsae (patterns) and silver in sparring. The sparring is nerve racking as a parent. The kids are trying to kick each other to get points and each match is 90 seconds. Its elimination rounds until you have a winner. Billy seems to have a strategy of ...let the other guy get way ahead then come back. Not good for Mom and Dad's heart and not endorsed by his coaches. In round 1, it ended in a tie. Sudden death is the name of the game, they put another 90 seconds on the clock and the 1st to get a point wins. Thank GOD Billy got the 1st point 15 seconds into the round. Billy 4-3. Then, onto round 2, again, he's behind, comes back and wins 4-3 again - he has now secured a bronze. Round 3, for the gold. He's behind, he's ahead and then the other kids makes a MAJOR play. Billy holds him off and its tied. 4-4. 5 seconds left . The other kid comes in and nails a kick. Billy is silver at 4-5. Afterwards Billy said, "I should have just slid back and let it go into overtime" when I ask why he didnt, he said "I just thought of it now!" We are really proud of him though and he said "I'm proud of myself because I did my best".
Now its Sunday morning, the boys are still asleep (its 12:30) and Billy got up, complained of a headache and fell back to sleep on the couch. He's got a 101.8 temp and a sore throat. Poor guy. He's a champion that one...
Luckily its a lazy day and next week is spring break, he's got plenty of time to recover.
Proud of you Billy!!
