Happy New Year!  Since getting back from the Scottish Masters Athletics International Austin, TX, in November, I have been putting the finishing touches on this new training website for Scottish Highland Games Events.   Very excited to introduce you to it!

Before the pandemic hit, the YEA Team and I had been talking about how to make training more convenient.  Several members were driving upwards of an hour in high traffic each way, just to get to practice.  That was some extreme dedication and thank you for that(you know who you are! 🙂 )   We were also being contacted at games by those that wanted to learn, but, just couldn't come to metropolitan areas to do so.  The ideas were percolating and then the top popped off when the pandemic hit.

The Team and I met in a Starbucks parking lot, divvied up equipment, made our plans behind masks and from 6' apart.  That was a surreal meeting.  It was odd to realize that your normal personal body space is much smaller than 6 feet.  And nomally a very huggy group, it almost felt like being in a twilight zone episode when we could not hug!   And at that point, way back in March, 2020, when we didn't know what to expect about anything, those denied hugs were greatly missed.

And then we hit the ground running.  And wow! did it work!   Don't get me wrong, there were lots of bumps, bruises, things that worked well and things that bombed before the first 30 minutes was up.  But, gradually, we all settled into things that worked ok, and then well, and then better.  When the governor opened up the state, we even held our first in person practice and then game.  RMSA judge Karen Hart kept us on the straight and narrow for that game, the first for several new people on the Team.

The summer flew by, training online and in person continued.  Focused online training was held during the week with no frustrating hour long trips in rush hour.  Masked In person practices on Saturday gave us all that shot of real contact we were starving for.  And we held our YEA Fall Game.  It was an awesome, fun day with masked events, RMSA judge Al Stagner presiding, great camaraderie amongst the team with special guest athlete Ryan Seckman attending.  We even a barbeque.

That next Monday, we were informed the team had been exposed to covid from someone 3 times removed from the group.  Hate to say, but, it gut punched the energy right out of me.  As careful as we all were and had been, it didn't matter, because someone else 3 times removed had probably been in a similar circumstance, but still got it.  We all quarantined ourselves, still met online and were eventually declared well and safe.  Wiser and definitely more aware of the spreadibility factor of covid.

Online training continued and our first out state team member joined up.  Then it was on!  How fun, crazy and very confusing it was to conduct online and in person practice at the same time.  Still working on that and will perfect it this summer.  Games opened up and finally we were training with a purpose.  All went well for everyone on the Team.

Until January, 2021.  Chuck and I had contracted covid from who knows where or how, as we were still practicing safe covid living.  And then Chuck died from it.  This post will not be about him or this personal tragedy.  I have spoken about this elsewhere.  However, this changed the course of my life forever.

But, still, the Team kept me on the path of sanity, showing up every week to their online and in person practices.  Thank you all for that.

And then I made the decision to continue on with the idea of YEA - that when exercise is adventurous and fun, it is done.  And this fun leads to happiness first and great health later - as you define both for youselves.  I also decided to separate the various activities of YEA into their own training sites, starting with the Scottish Highland Games.  I will build out the other adventures/sites when this one is running well.

Today, it is a work in progress, an empty online training facility.  I can't get it all done first or bring it to excellence until people show up, so with that thought in mind -

Welcome, take your mask off, get warmed up and let's get ready for the next throwing season! at: LearnScottishHighlandGamesEvents.com!