Yesterday was a good day, by the end of the day Joe had ditched the crutch and was walking around just supoprting himself using the walls and tables. He gets up and down the stairs okay on his own using the rail, so things are going well. This morning a giant psychological leap forward happened that he wasn't even aware of, which is the best way for it to happen, so I didn't even mention it. Prior to the accident if you're keeping up with this in previous entries, you'll remember he was of the opinion that the removal of the pins had rendered his leg now weak and that was the reason that he was limping. The bash on the knee has now meant that he's pre-occupied with that and the negative thought regarding the strength/weakness of the actual tibia have faded. I'm hoping that once the wounds have sealed and the bandage has come off, without having thought about the tibia for more than a couple of weeks, he'll just get on with it and that should be a big leap forward.
The images are from this morning. Top one is the pin removal scar that wasn't damaged in the fall, the middle images is the leg as it is once bandaged, this is there primarily to prevent him from bending his leg and straining the other wound and opening it up. The bottom image is the one that was damaged in the fall.
Ben
I've just been out in the garage and digging around in the wardrobes and drawers getting together his cricket gear ready for the first net session of the year. It should have been last week, but that was cancelled because of the same snow that Joe had his accident in. While I was outside getting the stuff together Ben came out and bowled a few balls and hit a few off some chuck downs I did with him and is really enthusiastic about the prospect of having a bowl at least. He's probably grown a few more inches since last season and is certainly stronger than he was last year and he's now at the stage in life where he's more competitive and is showing more of an intrinsic desire to do well and win, without at the same time getting wound up (I hope) when it doesn't come together. If he keeps that frame of mind intact during the season he'll do okay I reckon, but I'm really looking forward to seeing how he does, because I know he's feeling excited about seeing how fast he can bowl this year!
I'm hoping this year he can do a little better with the bat or at least view it in a more positive light, as I think the competition amongst the bowling attack in the U15's is going to be very strong and he needs to improve another aspect of his game.
Me
I've not been to adult nets yet and if I do it'll have to be a low level starting point and look to build up over the coming two months. I've started to do some basic fitness and strength training, but very piecemeal at this point and I've got issues with my foot still and my calf muscles. I've been to the Quack with regards to the foot and that may be resolved quite easily with an in-step pad in my trainers. What that would do is distribute the weight more equally across the foot and take some of the pressure off the front of the foot (pads) where the pain is occuring.
U15's
Before we'd gone off to nets, I'd gone through a list of who might be in the U15's and was looking at it thinking - strewth, there's a lot of blokes there chasing after just a few games! Then once we got to nets I had another look around at who was where and had a chat with some of the parents and realised that there was even more than I imagined. It sounds as though there are potentially 20 blokes that are going to be hoping (With some justification) that they're going to get a game every week! But then at the end of the session talking to the coaches, there's another competition been added to their calender and this is an Under 16's comp that'll be played on Sunday afternoons which is a 40 over format.
So, from what I've gleaned so far, it sounds as though...
Thursday - T20 area cup matches between local clubs (U15's)
Saturday - 4th XI league competition (Adults)
Sunday - 40 over U16's
Weekday evening - School cricket training.
Weekday evening - school cricket matches (15-20 over format)
Weekday evening - U15's training.
All that alongside the need to keep on top of school work and attend Karate classes, it sounds like a busy week for the likes of Kieran and Ben!
But it does sound like there's loads of scope for cricket, it'll be interesting to see if Ben will want to play Saturday 4th XI's with me and whether he'll get selected for the U16's team.
U13's
There wasn't any U13's that I noticed other than Harry and Frank Farrington, Joe would have been there if his leg was back in action, but talking to the coaches, it sounds as though there's a bit of a shortage of U13's this season and the team will have to be bolstered by U11 players. We'll have to watch how that goes this season.
Adult nets
Are on Sunday PM 2-4pm at Fitzwymarc school, this'll be a fiver. So if I go I'll have to leave early to get to Ben's session.
