With the new year in full swing, Connor's winter was just as busy as the preceding seasons. Along with maintaining his tough school curriculum, Connor continued to juggle a heavy schedule for basketball as well as ongoing workouts and preparation for the upcoming spring season of Katy Tiger baseball. At Connor's last home game for his sophomore season of basketball, the athletes presented their parents with a sweet handwritten message on a take-home keepsake basketball. It was bittersweet to see the season come to a close!
Before basketball season had even concluded, Connor was already participating in baseball events and workouts leading up to the spring tryout in late January. The baseball tryout consisted of a full weekend of skills, workouts, and scrimmages. There were a ton of boys trying out and they were all hopeful to gain a spot on the team.
Connor was beyond thrilled when his name was on the list for the spring baseball team! He was hoping for a better season than last year, but he would have to wait to find out which team - Sophomore, JV, or Varsity - he would be placed on. There were about 3 weeks of overlap between basketball and baseball season, and Connor had permission from both sets of coaches to participate in both sports during the overlap period. Those 3 weeks were likely the toughest for Connor throughout his entire sophomore year. With early morning basketball practice, a full day of classes, after-school baseball workouts that lasted well into the nighttime hours, followed by an intense workload of homework and studying - Connor was beyond exhausted and barely making it through the long days. The amount of clothing and equipment he had to pack each morning at 5 a.m. was tough to keep up with, and we often had trouble keeping up with the schedule to figure out where Connor needed to be, at what time, and how to prioritize when there were conflicts. Many days you could find Connor taking some practice swings with the bat right before a basketball game or shooting some hoops before heading off to a baseball tournament. By the same token, we would sometimes start the day wearing our basketball spirit shirts only to end the day by changing into baseball. Such was the life in support of this busy kid!
We were so proud of Connor for working so hard toward his goals of playing both sports he loved while maintaining his great grades at the same time. We were all running ragged with this crazy schedule of ours, but we tried to recognize his efforts with a little treat every now and then.
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