Wow, what a day! These guys played hard, all day long and into the night.
Saturday began bright and beautiful with the sounds of birds and little voices all over campus. Dads and sons began heading to the dining hall for breakfast around 7:15am. It was then time to prepare for clinics. There seemed to be so much excitement as the anticipation grew. Boys were asking their dads what they would be doing and where they would go next.
I headed to the baseball field first. After a few words from Coach Holmes, the guys broke off into stations where they worked on catching fly balls, fielding grounders, running bases, hitting off the tee or hitting a pitch in our batting cage. They were having a blast. I was so amazed at the patience of the fathers. The reward was the smile on the face of their little boy when he caught a ball or made contact with a bat. Priceless!
Football was pretty intense - but fun. Lots of reminiscing about the glory days on that field. It seems we had a few former quarterbacks in the group today.
There were stations set up around Hanes Field. Boys and their dads could work on receiving, throwing and defending. There was even a little "one on one" going on. Coach Fischer and Coach Gay are no strangers to boys. They both coach the WFS Bengal Football team. They also have their own sons.
Behind Johnson Stadium is a new group of tennis courts. It was here that Coach Lee Banta awaited his group of tennis goers. Lee is a teacher and coach here at Woodberry. He's also a Woodberry graduate. Today we had all levels of tennis players, from newbies touching a racket for the first time, to guys that could really play!
Just in front of the tennis courts is our second turf field. This is where we had our lacrosse clinic set up. Out today for lacrosse was our Head Varsity Lacrosse Coach, Brian Hemming, who by the way, is a new father (of a son and future tiger). Coach Jarry assisted Coach Hemming today. They too talked a little about lacrosse and then broke off into stations. Some of these little guys could really throw and catch. Impressive!
Just beyond the lacrosse field is where the WFS driving range, putting green and chipping green is located. Coach Amos and Coach Smith were there to greet fellow golfers. Many times I heard.. "it must be nice to live on a 9 hole golf course with your own practice areas". Response? "Why yes, yes it is indeed!" What a great sport for a dad and his son to enjoy together. Some of them took advantage of the course and spent time on it during the relaxation periods.
Over on the soccer field I wasn't sure what to expect from Coach Mills as I hadn't attended one of his clinics. I sure wasn't expecting to see a bunch a guys sitting on a soccer ball when I approached. Well, that's exactly what they were doing. It was a drill! And what a fun drill it was. The dads were such good sports. The kids giggled and giggled as they watch their dad follow the silly instructions that Coach Mills called out. (like getting down on all fours and putting your head on the ball) It's all part of learning how to handle the ball and keeping control. They did, of course, move on to some more intense drills.
Showing off the skills!!!!! Dad's still got it. Inside the Barbee Center Coach Justus held the basketball clinics. Here too, the guys had a lot of fun with some really great drills. They passed, they shot and they even played a little one on one.
In between clinic sessions lunch was served in the dining hall. The gang had one meal under their belt already, so they knew exactly how to go through the serving line and handle their tray. (they also learned right where to find the ice cream!) Cheeseburgers and fries were served at lunch today - Dinner was a favorite of almost everyone... chicken strips and creamy mac n' cheese... yum.
The campers came in droves to the pool during the late afternoon hours. What a party.. The only thing missing was a live band. The dads were great about sunscreen! I was so impressed.
It was pretty quiet around here after dinner. The campers young and old were worn out. There was a pick up game of whiffle ball going on at Grainger field. Only a few made their way back to the pool. Some hit golf balls and others just took a walk. It was a beautiful evening. The air cooled off nicely. The orangish-pink sunset was fantastic. The Fir Tree opened at 8pm for a night time snack. (and some basketball game viewing). All and all it was a pretty great couple of days.
Thanks for coming to The Woodberry Forest Father/Son Weekend. Have a safe trip home and enjoy the slide show. (you can view larger at picasa by clicking on the photo)
