Her classmates play with dolls and obsess over the latest pop boy band.
Aysha Houk sleeps with a football under her arm and would spend every waking hour on a ball field if she could.
Now that school is out for the summer, she has her wish.
Aysha, who celebrates her ninth birthday on Sunday, is in the heart of softball season — or seasons, to be more precise.
She plays on the Fellowship Regional Church squad in the Iola Recreation Department Pixie League. Meanwhile, Aysha also plays on weekends for the SEK Vipers, a traveling 10-and-under softball squad featuring a number of players from the Iola area.
Ethan Tavarez, Houk’s older brother, has a similar set-up. He plays for two Mustang teams, the Iola Babe Ruth Mustangs, and the 13-and-under traveling Mustangs.
As a result, Aysha and Ethan will invariably have practices or games seven nights a week.
Both Ethan and Aysha’s traveling teams usually play in tournaments every other weekend, while their rec league squads have games one or two nights during the week. Practices fill in the other days.
If they’re lucky, the tournaments are close enough for their mother, Kristie Tavarez, to commute back and forth between games.
“I hate to miss any of their games, but if there’s a conflict, I’ll usually go to Aysha’s first,” she said. “With Ethan being older, and in his sixth year of traveling baseball, it’s old hat for him. Aysha is just in her second year of playing with her traveling team.”
Most often, the tournaments are in the Kansas City area.
The miles, and costs, add up quickly.
“Aysha’s tournaments are usually in Lee’s Summit (Mo.), while Ethan’s are in Lenexa,” she said. “That’s a pretty good distance.”
Kristie estimated she put on 300-plus miles on her car some weekends.
And there’s also the price of motels, food and even admission to attend her children’s games.
“I’d hate to add up and see what I’ve spent,” she laughed. “I’m sure I could have taken a nice vacation with that money — or at least gotten a new car.”
