The End of Spring Soccer

The weeks felt long, but the season was short.  I can hardly believe that last Saturday was our final day of Spring soccer games.  

The Orange Warriors went out with a bang - almost everyone on the team scored a goal, including J!

He's already excited for the Fall season to begin.  

And even the Fireballs won, with M scoring 1 goal, and 1 assist.  

I am so proud of these kids.  I was never athletic as a kid (pudgy + nearsighted = incredibly uncoordinated), and I sincerely hope that our encouragement and support of athletics will benefit them throughout school and beyond.  We never push them - choosing to participate in sports is totally up to them - but we make sure they understand that once they commit, they MUST follow through with every practice and every game.  As long as they enjoy it, we are happy to keep supporting them.  Even if they are never soccer "stars", good things will come from this... for all of us.  

U6 Soccer

J has been SO EXCITED to start soccer this Spring.  After accompanying us to Spring and Fall soccer for his big sister, he was more than ready to have his own turn.  Due to some schedule changes, last Saturday brought a practice instead of his first game.  Despite the 26 degree temperatures, he was a trooper!

His first game FINALLY arrived yesterday.  They played 4-on-4, with 4, 8 minute quarters.  Or something close to that.  

The Orange Warriors started with a team cheer. 

It was a little warmer last night, but not by much (37 degrees).

Despite being the littlest guy on the team, he was a fast runner, and not afraid to get after the ball. 

And he scored 2 goals!

The Warriors prevailed with a score of 15-3.  

Go Soccer!

The end of Spring Soccer

Today was the last day of Spring Soccer. Although Big Sis was never overly-enthusiastic about playing, I think she did enjoy it. Memories of this season include:

• Wild weather. From cold, windy and rainy to sunny and nearly perfect, those Purple Lollipops played through all kinds of weather.
• Missing socks. I don't know why, but we had the worst time maintaining the whereabouts of her soccer socks. This resulted in a weekly shakedown of the house, which rarely resulted in victory.
• A real-life experience with "sideline sports rage". We had just finished a game, and a parent from the opposing team laid into that week's coach (from their own team). He was being rude & aggressive, and Big Daddy stepped in to defend her. This enraged the parent in question, who proceeded to actually go nose-to-nose with Big Daddy and tell him that he wanted to "Go". In the end, the situation was diffused and no punches were thrown, but it was a tense few minutes.
• A realization that soccer can be fun! Not sure she'll willingly sign up for the Fall season, but I think we can talk her into it again - especially after she scored 3 goals in the last game!