40D Newby Questions

Hi Everyone,
I ‘m sorry for the long post to follow, but I’m new to this and I figured I lay it all out on the line… To say the least I am a serious newby when it comes to digital SRL cameras. I bought the 40D to take better/more accurate photos of my kids playing sports and other hobbies. I have to admit that I was using a Sony DSC-H1, point & shoot, which in my opinion took great outdoor pictures, but it wasn’t cutting it when it came to indoor wrestling pictures. Now I am struggling with my new camera. I know that I probably bit off more then I can chew, when it comes to stepping up in capabilities. For the most part my pictures are coming out~~~~ok. Blur seems to be the biggest problem, but it is only really noticeable at full resolution. Is this typical or is it me, I guess what should I expect from the 40D? Also, one thing I’ve noticed that is REALLLY driving me nuts is trying to use the auto focus on moving targets. My lens is constantly focusing in and out, in and out, so I end up with one in focus, one out….. Is this normal? I never seemed to have this problem with my point and shoot Sony. By the way I am using a mono-pod for most of my outdoor sports shots.

Configuration:
Canon 40D
Canon 28-135mm USA (Pretty solid pictures)
Canon 70-300mm USA (main blur issues)

When I’m taking the pictures on the field, I tend to have the lens maxed out, is this the problem?

Thank you in advance for your support!

Perhaps the easiest way to see what you are talking about is to put up an example with EXIF information intact.

Right off the bat though, action shooting with the lenses you have might be pushing it. I guess it all depends on the lighting condition and what type of action you are talking about. Generally though, you would either need faster glass (such as the 85 1.8...popular lens for things like indoor hoops) or flash, if that is allowed.

It's all about getting fast enough shutter speeds to stop the action. The IS on your lenses won't do much to help stop the action.

Posting some samples would be great as already mentioned.

Make use of the higher ISO. Try setting to 800 and even 1600 on the indoor shots.