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f thursday sept 5 2002 33 economist sun stouffville tribune sports hannelore volpe been there done that hipwreck 0 awaits in miniputting this will be easy i thought tiger woods will soon be quaking in his expensive italian leather shoes i was at the timber creek golf mini- putt course on the outskirts of stouffville and i was ready to play i had started working out weeks before climbed the stairs at work more often walked around the back yard regularly made sure the compost bucket was really full before hauling it to the com post heap plus i did a few arm and leg stretches to make sure i would be in fine athletic form after all i thought minigolf might soon be an olympic sport and i want ed to be ready i brought a pad and pen to timber creek to write down what i assumed would be complicated lengthy instruc tions instead timber creek coowner lynn reesors golf tips were concise put your feet apart in line with your shoulders hold the club like this go that way she demonstrated one hand above the other on the putter handle thumbs facing straight down hey i can handle this i thought i gently whacked the bright yellow ball i had been issued in the clubhouse inexplicably it swerved just grazing the hole and curving away took another shot and another fortunately no one see preschoolers page 34 sporting life keeps families hopping byjohncudmore staff writer its the end of a long gruelling week and an opportunity to chill on a friday night but you know saturday morning will get even more hectic than the monday- tofriday rat race could ever be a typical weekend schedule may go something like this little jimmy is pitching his teams second game in a baseball tournament in windsor sister katie is in ottawa for a soccer tournament billy the quarter back on his football team has an away game in burlington trouble is the family only has two vehicles and more important only two parents the math simply doesnt add up you find that it actually is possible to get three kids to three places even if they are all due at the same time staff photosjoerd witteveen the porter family of ballantrae puts a lot of effort into getting the kids to the right sport at the right time in the right place mom jackie and dad mark watch as jack 5 is off to soccer danielle 9 goes to gymnas tics and chris 10 is off to hockey but its a reality for families in which togetherness is defined by a weekend on a ball field or soccer pitch many kilometres from home anchored by a motel room and governed by a tournament schedule and dont forget regular season games and practices usu ally held through the week in some households following one child is plenty busy in fami lies where more than one child competes traffic lights in the kitchen wouldnt be a bad idea in these households zooming off in different directions is normal there is no doubt two of the most significant inventions of the 21st century are the minivan and die wall calendar consider the dungavell family of newmarket whose weekly rou tine revolves around four active sons this summer was the first time all participated in organized sports we joke about it with our friends all the time but its a choice i dont think weve been home a single weekend this sum mer says rik dungavell who helps coach a newmarket hawks rookie ball rep team for which son carter plays eldest son ryan 17 plays competitive baseball also for the hawks and 16yearold graham is in the young bucs foot ball program youngest son cj is entering his first hockey season after playing baseball a lot of our friends just shake their heads says jean dungavell schedule coordinator at the hec tic household some cant believe we would choose a hockey game over entertainment or baseball rather than a weekend at the cot tage but it is a source of entertain ment for us i know in a few years well miss it so we enjoy it now a little ingenuity in scheduling and help from parents of other players helps make sportori ented households run smoothly usually parents of teammates are accommodating because they are in the same situation if you want to make it work you can do it says whitchurch- stouffville resident mark porter whose three children range in age from five to 1 1 years and are active in minor hockey he also coaches son christopher in the richmond hill stars program and daughter danielle is a gymnast in the markhambased winstonettes club the youngest jack is enter ing his first hockey season you find that it actually is pos sible to get three kids to three places even if they are all due at the same time you rely on other people for rides but so does everyone else leaving the kids under some one elses watchful eye may not be a chapter in the ideal parents handbook which would suggest a family member attend every play of their childrens sports careers but the priority is making sure each child is in the right place at the right time ten years ago we were in the same boat says jean dungavell i remember rik wondering how people could just drop off their kids and not watch them now thats us it helps to have a time manage ment specialist like most house holds where kids activities dictate the pace the dungavell kitchen features the mandatory wall cal endar you just never plan things in see parents page 34 nike golf bags dual lightweight stand bag 11999 reg 21999 arnold palmer amies own 11 pe 24999 mrh mlh reg 49999 strata pro batata golf balls 2499 llgayhrmade 300 ti drivers 24999 reg 499oo dz reg 4799 dozen pins jbag with stand 17999 reg z9999 individual woods rhlh mens ladies nike titanium drivers 39999 reg 64999 from from demo models 2499 nike tw tour accuracy 3999 reg 5999 bagboy zz stand bag 9999 reg 19999 greg norman golf shirts 4999 reg 9999 find it jmhrhm dimarcoj 7 east wwwdimarco golf clearance centre 9054795077 com i i m