Fall Sports Recap

We had a super busy Fall in the Sturm home with three kids doing three different sports. Despite the fact that it kept us running in a million directions, we truly loved watching them do what they love!

Joel enjoyed his third year of cross country. It definitely feels like he's been a cross country runner for way more than three years! The friends and memories he's made in this sport are priceless! He has grown so much as a runner and his hard work/dedication to the sport grows with every passing year. We love watching him set goals and surpass them. His season started out a bit rough because he came down with a nasty respiratory bug that messed with his breathing for several weeks. He started to get pretty down on himself and doubted if running was even for him. It took a cold, rainy, miserable mid-week race to turn that all around. He finally got back into his groove and ran an amazing race. From that point forward, he was back! The season didn't end with a team trip to state like last year, but he still had a wonderful season overall!

Leah went out on a limb and tried something totally new...tennis! I kept trying to plant that seed with all three of the kids, but nobody ever seemed too interested. At the tail end of summer, Leah decided that she might just want to give it a try. She joined in for the last few days of tennis camp at LWC, spent a few hours practicing with me, and showed up to day one of tryouts. She didn't know a single person and I was so proud of her bravery for trying something new without having a friend to ease the anxiety. She made the team and spent the season playing doubles with another girl who was new to tennis. She learned so much and definitely improved! It was a great way to start her high school career and she learned that sports are an awesome way to get involved and connect with others.

Caleb had a football season to remember! After MONTHS of conditioning (starting last January) and an intense summer of camps, practice, and conditioning, their season started in late August. The boys played their hearts out every single Friday night and we had a blast cheering them on. The few losses they had were super close games that kept us on the edge of our seats. Their hard work paid off and the team made it all the way to the state semi-finals. After an incredibly intense game that appeared to be a victory for LWC right up until the final minute (when the opposing team scored), the boys came up short and the season ended. We know that the loss was heartbreaking for the team and we were sad to see it all come to such an abrupt end, but they certainly had no reason to feel anything besides proud! Caleb had such an amazing experience throughout the whole season and we are so thankful for the memories he made.

Now it's time to move onto Winter....Caleb is doing wrestling again, Leah gave basketball a try, and Joel is managing the boys basketball team at his school. Busy, busy, busy!