The Winter Olympics

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat are emotions which are played out in the arena of our house on a daily basis. It is fitting that the Winter Olympics have been the backdrop in the going ons around here. One of my best childhood memories are of staying up late watching Franz Klammer literally flying down the slopes in Innsbruck in 1976. I knew nothing about skiing, I’ve still never been skiing, and yet this man in yellow spandex who was all over the course became my hero for a couple of weeks during the Olympics.

Who says hockey players aren't cute?

It’s Saturday morning, Debbie is at a tennis tournament with Sam, Ollie just made crepes and Theo just made french fries. Simon is sampling everything and I’m cleaning up the mess they made in the kitchen. Hockey is the first sport on the schedule today. I tell them the goalie must wear safety goggles and the game is over when someone get hurt.

Theo slap shot

These guys are hilarious. First they put ice in zip lock baggies and tried rubber banding them to the bottom of their feet to simulate ice skating. When that didn’t work they tried tying wooden blocks on their feet. Socks worked alright but were discarded for some unknown reason.

Ollie with goggles and shin guards

Ollie trying to show his missing teeth

Curling never got airtime when I was a kid, at least not in the U.S. There’s something mesmerizing about a sport where you can have participants who are over weight and don’t appear to know what it is to exercise. I have this theory that you turn to curling when you fail at hockey. Bob sledding and lugeing are a couple of other sports which have attracted the attention of the Catanzaro boys.

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Switching to other sports. Henry just finished up his basketball season at Penmar Recreation Center. His Bruins went 2-6 and lost a very physical playoff game by 12 points. After the game, Henry (nursing a charlie- horse) limped to the car and fought back tears on the car ride home.

Ollie and Theo have been swimming 2-3 times a week with Team Santa Monica. They are both doing great. Theo (the phlegmatic) is steady and swims with almost dreamlike strokes. Ollie (the choleric)  like with everything else he does, attacks the water with the intention of conquering.

I told Ollie that I would teach him to surf in the spring. He said, ” But, there’s no side to grab onto if I get tired in the ocean.”

Well, that about wraps it up at Sports Central. I leave you with a little video paying tribute to our little athletes. The music was written and performed by Sara Azriel. She’s a great musician and music teacher. Sara is working on her first record. Check out her site and listen to her songs.

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