Tennis Team Banquet

Last night, we hosted the Tennis Team banquet here. About 50 people gathered in our home to celebrate the boys' accomplishments this season with a party.

They placed at the top of their league (they won), and they did it by playing fair and working hard.  We are very proud of them, and especially of the quality of their character - individually, and as a group.

This is the largest group of people we've ever had inside of our house, and it was so crowded that I had trouble getting good photos. During dinner, some of us had to stand, and it was difficult to walk around, but I loved feeling the warmth and happy energy in the house. The boys roamed around, ate voraciously and then we gathered to hear Coach address the crowd. Each player received a certificate, a Varsity letter, an award, or some combination of the above. Coach made a comments about each one of the team members, his contributions, character and progress this year. I appreciated this greatly, as I couldn’t have done that for 20+ boys – and  I loved learning a bit more about each one!

I took the photos during Coach DeVries’ speech, trying not to distract people, and listening while I snapped away. Now, I wonder, am I allowed to post photos of other people's kids?

David received an award:  The Viking Award.
 
You may recall the he received this same award last year. It’s given to the athlete who embodies the qualities of scholar, athlete and excellence of character. Our high school’s mascot is the Viking, since we live in a town that was settled by (and is still populated by a lot of) Norwegians. Grandpa G., Gregg  and David have all been Viking athletes,  but David holds the award, for the second time. We love him, and we admire his character and the values that he holds and embodies. David is his own man, and he is a good one.

I am thankful to God that He sent us the two wonderful people who are our children. And I wish Katie had been here to enjoy the party (and all of the handsome boys who were all over the house) – she would have loved it! (One small photo of a part of the group can’t hurt, can it?)

Since you asked:  we took a lot of shortcuts, to make this as easy on everyone as possible. (I used to be able to host 30+ people without difficulty, but my brain doesn’t work the way it did in the past in multitasking.) We bought five lasagnes from Costco, paper plates and napkins, plastic utensils (sorry, Suz!) and soda, sparkling  juice and water (we did recycle these containers). We served coffee (if it hadn’t been a school function, we would have served wine, too, but we couldn’t). I bought 4 loaves of French bread, sliced it and made garlic butter, which was brushed on and then baked into it. Our guests each signed up to bring either a salad or a dessert. It was perfect! Plenty of food, and even some leftovers. With Gregg's and David's help, the house was cleaned up and things were put away by bed time. Thanks, guys!

As a group, we purchased gift certificates for both Coach DeVries and Covey, for use at  Burrata Bistro (our neighbors’ - Kim & Alfonso’s - restaurant). Both coaches have very young children, so we figured they could use a quiet, romantic, delicious dinner that they don’t have to cook!

It’s hard to believe that four years of high school tennis are already at an end. It was a wonderful experience for David, and we are thankful to the coaches and other team members for making it so.

Tennis Season is Ending

This has already been a busy week.


On Monday, David participated in the League Tennis Tournament. That was an all-day event, in which he played two matches. I won't go into the details, but let's just say that there are players who are willing to cheat, repeatedly, when they are under pressure. I wonder what life has in store for young people who are willing to trade their integrity in order to win.  By the way, if you are interested in reading a well-written interview with such a person, hop over to http://www.vanityfair.com/ and read the article about Marc Dreier. It's a very illuminating cautionary tale, which I suggest should be required reading in high schools around the country (especially after seeing two young men - on different teams, at different events - cheating in sports this season).

Yesterday, I cleaned our house in preparation for the Tennis Team Banquet, which will take place in our home tonight. Since this is David's senior year, I thought it would be fun for us to host it; I'm finishing the preparations today. It looks as if we are going to have something like 45 or 50 people here!


Yesterday afternoon, I accompanied David to Seattle, where we met Gregg and drove to Bellevue to see a presentation about a college in which David is interested. It's a wonderful school, and I became tearful as I was listening to the students and faculty speaking about it. I'm so excited for David and this next "frontier" that awaits him. He is standing on the brink of discovery, challenges, adventure and opportunity:  it's thrilling to be a witness to this. College was all of that, and more, for me; I wish I had been more mature back then, but that's not the way it works when you are 18 and leaving home for the first extended period of time. So I watch him, and hound him to get all of his preparatory work completed in a timely manner, and watch some more.

I love being a mother.

Got to go and finish getting ready!

There is a new posting over at the Katie Gerstenberger Endowment blog.

A Joy to See

 I’m thankful to God for the gift of this beautiful young man.
He is a joy to me, in action, in repose, in conversation, in any time and place.
I love my son beyond what I can express with words.

These photos were taken yesterday, during his tennis match vs. Kingston H.S.

Tennis Team Banquet

We attended David's tennis team banquet last night. It was held in the lovely home of one of the team members. Dinner was provided by the hosts, and the rest of us brought desserts. Those high school boys can eat!

Coach stood up and spoke briefly and beautifully about each young man on the team. Each one received individual recognition, as coach discussed their strengths and their growth during the course of the season. He gave each young man his certificate of participation, and we clapped for them. The varsity players received their letters. This is David's first year on the varsity squad, and his first year as a singles player. It's pretty cool to hold that wool/felt "NK" (North Kitsap Vikings) emblem, and the accompanying bar and crossed tennis racquets. Does anyone still wear a letterman's jacket?

Coach gave out award plaques for the most improved player, one for leadership qualities, and then he came to the Viking Tennis Award. He described the qualities that the recipient of this award embodies, which are athleticism, courtesy and academic achievement ("For Outstanding Classroom & Court Performance"). He told us that this plaque remains in the trophy case on campus, and the name inscribed on it this year is David Gerstenberger.

We are very proud of our gentleman athlete-scholar.

Big Bear Sports Ranch: Camp Was Fun

David is tan, strong and happy with his week at camp. He was able to play 4 - 5+ hours of tennis each day, and play other games, as well. The campers worked with tennis coaches to improve their techniques, went on an alpine slide (kind of like a luge),

had a talent show, a casino night, and met kids from other places who were focusing on different sports (most of these kids were from CA, where the camp is located). They had plenty of options, in the way of activities, to keep them busy.

And no junk food whatsoever!

The camp director is one of the tennis pros who we know from Palm Desert. It was nice for David to see Bob & his family there; it made us feel good to know that he would be seeing familiar faces. We appreciate Bob's kindness. We are also thankful for Grandma & Kappa's generosity in making the camp experience a gift for David.

He had good, smooth flights, both ways. That's his third trip on his own. He is getting pretty good at it.