• Please be sure to read the rules and adhere to them. Some banned members have complained that they are not spammers. But they spammed us. Some even tried to redirect our members to other forums. Duh. Be smart. Read the rules and adhere to them and we will all get along just fine. Cheers. :beer: Link to the rules: https://www.forumsforums.com/threads/forum-rules-info.2974/

March travel plans with a 17y.o. fencing phenom

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
So the lovely Mrs Bob and I have things 98% confirmed for travel plans for this month with Dasha our near Olympic level fencing student.

100% confirmed: Melen, the lovely Mrs_Bob, Dasha & myself are flying to San Francisco with Dasha on March 12, staying in that area until March 16. While we are there we will visit Stanford University to tour the campus and meet the saber coach for their division 1 team. We plan to be there for 3 full days, 2 of which are just 'tourist' days to see the San Fran area as its an area that my family has never visited so Dasha gets to travel with us ... whether she wants to or not!

March 16 we will fly to Los Angeles and then car to Anaheim. Dasha will be competing in the USFA "SJCC" Super Junior tournament on Sunday March 17. It's technically a regional event but has national/international competitors. It is the 2nd largest and 2nd most competitive event she has seen since she has been in the United States. I'm hoping she makes the Top 16. I think it's possible that she could make the Top 16 if she is fencing well that day. Sadly she is out of practice, she used to practice 5 days a week, now only about 2 to 3 days per week.

March 18 we fly home to Chicago.



96% confirmed: March 22 we fly to Boston. Campus visits, and fencing coach meetings, with Tufts, Harvard and MIT.
'
March 27 we are at YALE for a campus & fencing team visit.

March 28-30 we are in New York City visiting Columbia and NYU for campus & fencing team visits.



98% Confirmed: It looks like the lovely Mrs_Bob and myself may be meeting Dasha's mom. Dasha's mother has moved from Moscow to Kiev. I have never met Dasha's mom but do trade emails with her and have been on conference calls with her. As I understand it she will probably be flying to Boston to meet us in Boston and go with us to New York.



85% chance of happening? By mid month we should know if Dasha is moving to Boston for high school next year. Honestly I'll take her to the airport to see her off to her new home but I'll also very likely cry like a baby when she leaves. And I do believe she is going to transfer high schools and I don't blame her and I fully support it. This has been a wild ride for me "coaching" a near olympic level athlete but at some point the ride needs to end and for the good of this athlete it should end with a transfer to a new school where she has access to a high level fencing club with a real coach where she can practice 5 days each week. But I do believe that she will remember me and my family :smile:



100% True Fun Fact: Found out by accident that Dasha and I both have the same birthday! Almost 40 years apart, but the same month & day.



Pictures just for fun ...
 

Attachments

  • o4Knue8qT++En65QIRNYKw.jpg
    o4Knue8qT++En65QIRNYKw.jpg
    75.6 KB · Views: 250
  • 57334188189__6D1413A6-9E0B-4185-A6EA-D963631B84FE.jpg
    57334188189__6D1413A6-9E0B-4185-A6EA-D963631B84FE.jpg
    125.7 KB · Views: 300
  • fullsizeoutput_684a.jpg
    fullsizeoutput_684a.jpg
    177 KB · Views: 253
  • Mp0Ex2eqRBKwaMchM+w0Pg.jpg
    Mp0Ex2eqRBKwaMchM+w0Pg.jpg
    71.3 KB · Views: 256
  • U2DMfNIcRQuTOL4Ww9W3Mg.jpg
    U2DMfNIcRQuTOL4Ww9W3Mg.jpg
    72.9 KB · Views: 248
  • ux9fZZKySrGaXw7NSUEK7g.jpg
    ux9fZZKySrGaXw7NSUEK7g.jpg
    53.5 KB · Views: 251
  • S+gUJF8GRgKydTwavoElhg.jpg
    S+gUJF8GRgKydTwavoElhg.jpg
    89 KB · Views: 249
  • IMG_6723.jpg
    IMG_6723.jpg
    134.2 KB · Views: 272
  • 2+CcUuXgTbCm8pZA5c3GRA.jpg
    2+CcUuXgTbCm8pZA5c3GRA.jpg
    113.2 KB · Views: 253
  • gUrHUMJ7Sfyjl9eLBqhE8A.jpg
    gUrHUMJ7Sfyjl9eLBqhE8A.jpg
    82.9 KB · Views: 249

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Sounds like a busy and fun time. Best wishes for you all.

No doubt in my mind Dasha will remember you and your family and all that you've done for her. You have made a huge impact on this young lady's life. What a good feeling that must be for you.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
...
No doubt in my mind Dasha will remember you and your family ...

Well I think she probably will too.

I'm not good enough to coach her in fencing, I clearly have nothing to teach her. She still trusts me as a 'strip coach' at tournaments, which I suppose means I've learned a lot this year because I can see some of her mistakes and some mistakes her opponents make and point those out to her during bouts. Seriously, this girl is nearly Olympic level and my qualifications are that I don't suck as bad as some of the other high school coaches! I think my biggest qualification is that, unlike some other coaches, I'm not lying to her to boost up my team's winning record and I actively try to get her the best coaching I can arrange for her practices. So perhaps that is why she trusts me?

But what I lack in fencing skills has been made up in other ways. Today the lovely Mrs_Bob and I will be meeting her to help her with letters to colleges, to help her transfer to a high school in Boston, and to work on travel plans for the East Coast trip we are finalizing. We will also take her a medium size suitcase for our travel to the West Coast. Pretty rare, I suppose to spend the better part of a month traveling with the child of a stranger, but that is what we are doing. And clearly we've spent a good bit of time with her over the past several months. She's coming to our house for Easter dinner, may stay with us for a week this summer between the end of school and a fencing camp she hopes to attend, etc etc etc.

Dasha has definitely become another "daughter" in the family.


More photos ... just for the fun of it :thumbup:
 

Attachments

  • C8KdkkLET0K9OrwHw8Iebw.jpg
    C8KdkkLET0K9OrwHw8Iebw.jpg
    124.5 KB · Views: 247
  • RHSYEssPQQOXW9lqHbY16w.jpg
    RHSYEssPQQOXW9lqHbY16w.jpg
    83.3 KB · Views: 238
  • fullsizeoutput_62e0.jpg
    fullsizeoutput_62e0.jpg
    152.1 KB · Views: 254
  • wmGRkoILTqWcS9fpWk9Pow.jpg
    wmGRkoILTqWcS9fpWk9Pow.jpg
    104.2 KB · Views: 237
  • IMG_4940.jpg
    IMG_4940.jpg
    103.5 KB · Views: 241

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I do believe the really talented folks need quality people like you to help guide them through all the 'other' stuff. You might not be able to 'coach' her talent , but you are guiding her and helping her make wise decisions that will impact her the rest of her life. Kudos to you, the lovely Mrs Bob and Melen for welcoming her in your home and taking the time and travel to help this young lady make the most of her talent. :tiphat:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
So it looks like there may be some travel plan changes.

The WEST COAST trip is still 100% confirmed.

The EAST COAST trip is now in some level of limbo.

The foreign exchange student program is balking about paying for the lovely Mrs_Bob & I to travel, despite the fact that they said they were not only willing to pay, but they were also willing to book the flights & hotels. I understand they have some concerns. I'm not here to argue.

So until that all gets figured out we have told Dasha & her mom that we will make all the arrangements but as Dasha's mom is planning to fly in for the same trip, we will sit out and Dasha & her mom can make the visits. If the program changes its mind and pays for us, then we go, but honestly its silly to have a parent + a chaperone on the same trip.

So we now have campus visits lined up. We have letters to fencing coaches dispatched and we are working on follow up phone calls to the same coaches.

No hard feelings either way as to whether or not we go to Boston/New York.


Photos for fun, again ...
 

Attachments

  • A6D88CCA-147B-4FBD-A364-5AD74E33C452.jpg
    A6D88CCA-147B-4FBD-A364-5AD74E33C452.jpg
    182.7 KB · Views: 253

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
...

96% confirmed: March 22 we fly to Boston. Campus visits, and fencing coach meetings, with Tufts, Harvard and MIT.
'
March 27 we are at YALE for a campus & fencing team visit.

March 28-30 we are in New York City visiting Columbia and NYU for campus & fencing team visits.

...

So this leg of our travel plans have now been cancelled.

We already have campus meetings set up so I need to cancel those meeting.

Unfortunately we could not get everything lined up with the foreign student exchange program.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
And tonight at the awards banquet Dasha got an award :clap:
 

Attachments

  • fullsizeoutput_6970.jpg
    fullsizeoutput_6970.jpg
    259.3 KB · Views: 226

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
From San Francisco/Stanford University

Got here Tuesday evening. Departing this morning.

Despite a run in with a Berkley resident and a couple trips through Haight-Ashbury the whole family is unscathed, free thinking and un-buggered.

Melen flies back to Chicago in time for a southside snowstorm, she returns to law school Sunday as classes resume Monday morning.. The lovely Mrs_Bob & I will accompany Dasha south to Anaheim so she can compete in the SJCC event tomorrow. We fly back to Chicago Monday evening.

Most of the pictures are right side up!
 

Attachments

  • NDTwn%gxScONAuuBplxVKA.jpg
    NDTwn%gxScONAuuBplxVKA.jpg
    53.4 KB · Views: 259
  • anyH9IHLQXWOOGIDIecm7w.jpg
    anyH9IHLQXWOOGIDIecm7w.jpg
    112.6 KB · Views: 236
  • Tr6ytmyQT36P213en69jKQ.jpg
    Tr6ytmyQT36P213en69jKQ.jpg
    134.2 KB · Views: 224
  • 7PH%8+iqQKi%rhjz2AwvyQ.jpg
    7PH%8+iqQKi%rhjz2AwvyQ.jpg
    74.9 KB · Views: 233
  • jY5wU9MqTZqfBFYi9apLSw.jpg
    jY5wU9MqTZqfBFYi9apLSw.jpg
    69.2 KB · Views: 225
  • DYzLjRncSaKwxuHvxlao0Q.jpg
    DYzLjRncSaKwxuHvxlao0Q.jpg
    146.3 KB · Views: 235
  • 007YLKSQQEWus4R+j1lXIQ.jpg
    007YLKSQQEWus4R+j1lXIQ.jpg
    72.4 KB · Views: 260
  • IMG_1634.jpg
    IMG_1634.jpg
    184.3 KB · Views: 224
  • dedVgRybT9afH%6UUCHvqg.jpg
    dedVgRybT9afH%6UUCHvqg.jpg
    61.6 KB · Views: 228
  • IMG_7447.jpg
    IMG_7447.jpg
    179.7 KB · Views: 258

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Sad day yesterday at the competition. It’s clear that her skills have declined since joining the high school team because she does not get enough top level competition. She needs to move to a new area where she can have local access to a high level fencing club with multiple top rated fencers. That is simply not possible on the far south side of Chicago.

On the bright side she fenced well enough to earn her first Junior National Points. That is a good thing for improving her chances with college recruiters. Sadly she fenced badly and only placed 21st. I was hoping for something in the top 16 spots. She was hoping for top 8.

The rest of the day was fun.

We fly home to Chicago this evening.
 

Attachments

  • F6C6764D-E865-44C1-8BBE-F1DE0D5F7F81.jpg
    F6C6764D-E865-44C1-8BBE-F1DE0D5F7F81.jpg
    201.3 KB · Views: 232
  • 67FAC5FD-6405-4A2D-9CD7-BD9F3CB4C4C7.jpg
    67FAC5FD-6405-4A2D-9CD7-BD9F3CB4C4C7.jpg
    101.6 KB · Views: 238
  • 61430CCF-5F96-4A14-A663-8E4CB0D63B85.jpg
    61430CCF-5F96-4A14-A663-8E4CB0D63B85.jpg
    79.7 KB · Views: 230
  • FD97768B-00BF-4E63-89BA-8F7ACB630CA3.jpg
    FD97768B-00BF-4E63-89BA-8F7ACB630CA3.jpg
    91 KB · Views: 234
  • 5F9E61F0-AC7B-4821-B588-DAE69791A662.jpg
    5F9E61F0-AC7B-4821-B588-DAE69791A662.jpg
    115 KB · Views: 233
  • B1CD0D2F-1968-4801-BACC-395AEB49757C.jpg
    B1CD0D2F-1968-4801-BACC-395AEB49757C.jpg
    108.3 KB · Views: 274

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Thanks for taking us along by sharing your pics Bob. Awesome!!!!!
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Back home again in Indiana

Melen is back at law school in Bloomington

Dasha is back at high school

California's landscape is beautiful, but California is a cesspool of filth and poverty. Honestly many parts seemed like a 3rd world country. Homeless people everywhere, and I mean all over the place. Camps of homeless in tents by the highways. People sleeping on the ground in front of Disneyland. Supermarket parking lots with homeless in San Francisco. Could not go a mile without seeing people is desperate shape. Regulations are apparently keeping prices so damn high on everything that it keeps them all in poverty ... the highest rate of poverty of any state in the nation. Chiraq has nothing on the state of California for being a total S#!th0le.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
FWIW I never claimed to be a good influence on minors.

Here is a photo of me in front of a strip joint in Hollywood and one of Dasha in front of one of California's pot shops. We finished that night with a FATBURGER

Travel with me and you get to see all the best places :yum:
 

Attachments

  • fullsizeoutput_6a11.jpg
    fullsizeoutput_6a11.jpg
    97.5 KB · Views: 211
  • FnmBO3oCTUuqRcdsDwj80g.jpg
    FnmBO3oCTUuqRcdsDwj80g.jpg
    134.1 KB · Views: 209
  • 976041FC-8C35-4DCA-8AF3-325A122A12A9.jpg
    976041FC-8C35-4DCA-8AF3-325A122A12A9.jpg
    130.8 KB · Views: 228

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Next time try to get some pics from inside the strip club. :D
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
So our travel plans for next week to take Dasha to Boston/New York are not happening.

Honestly I'm not unhappy about that.

Dasha will still go, but she will meet her mother in Boston. Mom is flying in from Kiev, Ukraine. We gave Dasha & her mom the itinerary and travel information. Dasha really wanted to go home for a week. Dasha really needs to visit the schools. Having her mom fly into meet her is the best compromise.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Dasha & her mom are in Boston now. They have been trading texts and emails with me all day.


Dasha visited BOSTON COLLEGE and was not impressed.

She also visited WELLESLEY COLLEGE and was not impressed.

The good thing about Wellesley is they share classes with MIT so if Dasha is not accepted at MIT but is accepted at Wellesley she could still get an MIT education. The fencing coach at Wellesley is very interested in meeting with Dasha and is aware that Dasha needs a big scholarship to pay for school.

I'm not surprised Dasha didn't like either school. Its cold in Boston, its Sunday so the campus is pretty much closed. If she would have gone on a day when she could have gotten a real tour, gotten into the buildings, and talked to students she might have a different impression.

She couldn't get into dining halls, couldn't meet with coaches, couldn't get to see anyone from Admissions or Financial Aid. But neither of those two schools are high on her list of choices. She went to see them because they are there. Tomorrow & Tuesday she will visit MIT and Harvard. If she has time she will also go to Tufts.

Lake photo is at Wellesley. Photo in front of the old building is at Boston College.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3479.jpg
    IMG_3479.jpg
    164.1 KB · Views: 192
  • IMG_3480.jpg
    IMG_3480.jpg
    105.5 KB · Views: 211

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Dasha is at MIT and likes this campus
 

Attachments

  • 1D36C1E9-E3B9-46F3-B046-35AA6114A6B9.jpg
    1D36C1E9-E3B9-46F3-B046-35AA6114A6B9.jpg
    216.6 KB · Views: 210

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just a couple updates.

Dasha visited Harvard and very much liked it. But she was unable to tour the fencing facilities. The coach and the team were, if I understood correctly, not on campus and the facility was closed. Photo below is at Harvard.

She played telephone tag with the fencing coach from M.I.T. but never got to actually meet with the coach. She did get to tour the M.I.T. fencing facility.

Tuesday evening they traveled from Boston southwest to New Haven, Conn and then toured Yale on Wednesday. Dasha was not impressed with their engineering or their computer science offerings. Looks like Yale has been crossed off the list of schools she will consider. She and her mom check in/update me daily and send me a picture with Dasha in front of some building or sign from the campus. Didn't even bother to send a photo from Yale so that says something about Dasha's feelings about Yale.

Wednesday evening she arrived in New York City. Today & Friday she will visit Columbia & NYU. Emails have previously been dispatched to the fencing coaches at both schools, hopefully she can see the NYU fencing facilities. If I understand it correctly, there are no large centralized fencing facility at Columbia, rather they utilize a couple local fencing clubs for their training facilities so not sure how to advise Dasha, but she will at, very least, try to meet up with the Columbia coaches.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3595.jpg
    IMG_3595.jpg
    126.3 KB · Views: 331

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
So the lovely Mrs Bob and I have things 98% confirmed for travel plans for this month with Dasha our near Olympic level fencing student.

100% confirmed: Melen, the lovely Mrs_Bob, Dasha & myself are flying to San Francisco with Dasha on March 12, staying in that area until March 16. While we are there we will visit Stanford University to tour the campus and meet the saber coach for their division 1 team. We plan to be there for 3 full days, 2 of which are just 'tourist' days to see the San Fran area as its an area that my family has never visited so Dasha gets to travel with us ... whether she wants to or not!

...

Another update ... this time about Melen :thumbup:

One of the reasons that Melen went on the SanFrancisco trip with us is because she received a job offer from CISCO Systems, which is headquartered just a few miles south of San Francisco and adjacent to Stanford's campus.

This morning Melen accepted the job offer with CISCO :clap:

To be honest, CISCO was her 2nd choice job. She was hoping for Cummins Diesel. They have not gotten back to her and time is running out on her ability to reply to CISCO so she gave up on Cummins and accepted CISCO.

In my humble opinion, given the very specific type of law that Melen wants to practice, the CISCO job is probably the better job for her to take. So professionally I believe this is the right choice. Emotionally I'm not happy with her being so far away from us again and neither is the lovely Mrs_Bob. So its a mixed bag with this job. Good for her, not so great for us?
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Going to visit NOTRE DAME with Dasha but date is not set. Possibly April 16???

We are trying to find a date that will work but the available dates are filling up pretty quickly and our time is running out before finals and standardized testing is scheduled for some weekends. The school also, being Catholic, limits tours due to Palm Sunday, Easter weekend, etc.

Notre Dame has one of the best teams in the nation. ACC Championships. Several individual NCAA champions. Several Olympians. So it would be good to get her there. Might have to pull her out of school mid-week some week to make the trip?



We also are hoping to get the DUKE and University of N.C. Chapel Hill. Both have pretty strong fencing teams, both have good computer science programs and pretty good engineering. So she should visit both of those schools too. Unfortunately the lovely Mrs_Bob and I have travel plans with Melen to move her to California so that will eat up a couple weeks in May. Dasha will be moving to Boston in early June? June might be the only practical time to try to get in a North Carolina trip ... not sure if she would be able to fly in from Boston to meet us in Raleigh and pull off a N.C. 2 college visit.

Running out of time with our 'adopted' daughter! :ohmy:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just a follow up.

Notre Dame University tomorrow. Probably pictures tomorrow too?

We have a meeting set up with the #1 fencing coach of the #1 women's fencing team, and ACC and NCAA #1 overall fencing team in the USA tomorrow at NOON. After the meeting we take a campus tour at 2pm. After the campus tour we visit Admissions and Financial Aid. After that we go back to meet the fencing team, watch their practice, etc.


Still trying to figure out a visit to UNC-Chapel Hill and DUKE universities. Not sure that is going to happen.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Congrats to Mel Sounds like you will getting more frequent flyer miles. :clap:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Notre Dame University visit today. Nearly 3 hours with the coach, follow up meeting at Summer Nationals, and she got invited back for a 2 day visit as soon as the school year starts so she can attend classes and visit with the team. Coach told her he will basically get her into the school, wants her on the team, but didn't promise any scholarship. We also went to the orientation, campus tour, ate at one of the dining halls, etc etc... Great day for her.

Notre Dame was her first choice school when she arrived in the US, then it completely fell off her list of choices. Now after visiting a bunch of schools, and spending the day on campus today, it seems to have elevated into the top 5 choices.
 

Attachments

  • 6mI9dj0HR0WB0XJNQ3SyXA.jpg
    6mI9dj0HR0WB0XJNQ3SyXA.jpg
    88.2 KB · Views: 262
  • GIf7gDf+SI+ErZqIDTfgTA.jpg
    GIf7gDf+SI+ErZqIDTfgTA.jpg
    124.2 KB · Views: 303
  • cXGJZPuDQpKh0jPVCKL8jA.jpg
    cXGJZPuDQpKh0jPVCKL8jA.jpg
    108.7 KB · Views: 306
  • fullsizeoutput_6ba3.jpg
    fullsizeoutput_6ba3.jpg
    219.8 KB · Views: 308
  • fullsizeoutput_6ba5.jpg
    fullsizeoutput_6ba5.jpg
    189.2 KB · Views: 295
  • C0fkUWT6RYaJubibJ3XFfw.jpg
    C0fkUWT6RYaJubibJ3XFfw.jpg
    102.9 KB · Views: 303

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Looks like Notre Dame likes Dasha... at least the head coach does.

He is looking for some scholarship $$$

This arrived last evening!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4919.jpg
    IMG_4919.jpg
    88.4 KB · Views: 302

Bamby

New member
Shes is really lucky you've chosen to take her under your wing. I full well know that my parents could't have helped me financially as far as your help has allowed her to go.

But I've a question on sports such as this sport. Where is the money and the financial rewards for their dedication to the sport. In ordinary sports a person could turn pro but fencing, swimming and some others where do the rewards kick in to feed and cloth yourself and keep a roof over your head.

Or is all the effort and training come to nothing in the end?
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just my opinion but I think all sports help us develop and grow in ways we would not have otherwise. No financial benefit. Like many others, I played baseball and basketball when I was young. I rowed on my HS crew team for four years. Got to travel and see things that I otherwise wouldn't have. I learned teamwork and comradery. Baseball skills transferred into adult softball and helped me make friendships at work and in community. I've also coached baseball, girls softball and youth basketball to help share my skills with young teams when my kids were growing up.

I feel there are and were many rewards for me because of sports, but none of them fed me or clothed me or put a roof over my head.

If Dasha's skills help pay for her college education that in itself is a huge financial benefit, besides the other benefits she will get from excelling in her sport.
 
Top