Alex soccer

Alex has been having an absolute blast on his soccer team this year.  This is the 3rd year he’s been on the same team, with the same excellent coach, with a handful of them returning for the 3rd year as well.  This year they have 4 kids on the field instead of just 3, with the additional player playing “sweeper-keeper” (aka goalie).  Alex loves getting physical, has amazingly good foot skills, and the goalie is a fun position for the kids to all try out.  I have a lot of sweeper-keeper pictures of him because he isn’t moving so fast that I can actually capture him! 

 

He is so fun to watch out there on the playing field.  He’s having fun and asking his coach when he can go back in.  They play hard!  When the soccer season starts in late August and early September – there have been some game days that have been ~88 degrees when they play.  Hot!  We haven’t hit the rainy weather yet, but we know it’s coming. 

 

 

How Boys U8 “decompress” after games (dog-pile!).  Of course, Alex is right in the middle of it all. 

 

 

 

 

After a really hot game – he likes to douse his head with water and make a mohawk. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soccer Season has started for Sara

 

 

 

We have another season of fall soccer upon us and this is Sara’s 2nd year playing.  She’s one of the “big” kids on the 3 & 4 year old team with “experience”.  She is loving it so far and is really fun to watch.  But, I don’t get to just watch her – as I’m the coach again this year.  I have ten 3 & 4 year olds on the Rattlesnakes (I didn’t choose it!) team.  I also have a wonderful assistant coach from Argentina who is so great to c0-coach with! 

 

Sara loves wearing soccer cleats and loves they have a little pink outline on the symbol.  She seems to officially have switched from her favorite color being green to being pink & purple, sniff sniff! 

 

It’s co-ed this year, but next year is all girls.  I’m so excited about this.  Boys and girls are just different.  When Alex was playing with girls, I thought it was “good” for him to learn to play with girls on his team.  Now that I have a girl – I want an all girls team.  I don’t want those boys to run her over, push her down (even though they are on the same team!) and hog the ball.  For now, it’s still good for Sara to play with a co-ed team.  She’s used to boys because of her big brother, I guess.  Next year… next year. 

 

What else can I say – she runs after the ball, kicks the ball, and has made a goal! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Sports

 

We were a busy family this Spring… Baseball started and once the boys even heard the words “flag football” – they were all in!  If you know Alex – you know he LOVES sports.  Wants to play them all – all the time.  Well, for the first time (ever) – we had him in two things this Spring.  It was a bit much at times, but we got through it and we all thoroughly enjoyed it! 

 

Sara stopped going to Gymnastics/Tumbling – she had done it for quite a while and was just done.  She was happy not having any “commitments” and just playing.  She had many friends at the practices and games of all the younger siblings.  Mud puddles, flowers for Mama, Playgrounds, umbrellas, chairs and generally being a very happy girl.  After many practices and many many games – we’re ready to get this girl back to Soccer this fall!  And who knows after that???? 

 

Alex did so great this year at Baseball.  It was coached pitched and for the first time – there were only 5 good balls and the boy would be out.  Talk about break a Mama’s heart!  I was able to watch the boys go through the emotions of being “out” and struggling with this.  Also, there were 3 outs each inning, compared to all boys/kids batting each inning.  The first couple of times the boys didn’t all get to bat there were some tears shed.  But, this is a part of learning this sport and they all adjusted to it eventually.  I loved hearing them all cheer for each other, when the got out, when they didn’t get to bat or when they didn’t make it to first/got out at first. 

 

And then scroll WAY down for the flag football pictures.  This was SO much fun.  Lance assisted the coach and Alex had 2 of his best friends on the team with him.  They were like the 3 stooges sometimes – but sometimes they were like little flag football prodigy!  One of the boys has quite an arm and really liked throwing/playing quarterback.  Alex and the other boy loved catching/running the football for a touchdown.  They were all really great and I loved watching them play.  They were getting plays and making connections. They really gelled.  There were playoffs and an I-9 bowl that Alex really wanted to go to – I think because he’d heard so much about the Superbowl because of the Seahawks.  His team ended up losing and not making it to the I-9 bowl, but I think in all the boys hearts and the parents hearts – we all were winners!  Alex’s specialty seemed to be running really fast away from the opponents or grabbing the flags of the opponents.  I can’t wait for next year!

 

 

Basketball

 

Basketball is in full swing and the difference between first year playing and second year is amazing!  Alex is having so much fun and Lance is the coach!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soccer Sara

 

 

Sara had a fantastic first soccer season. 

 

We played in the same league that we did with Alex when he was in the same age range.  It’s a group of ten(!) 3 & 4 year olds and they are always looking for volunteer coaches.  I decided that I’ve watched and helped enough and that I could be the coach this year for Sara.  It was a big job and not for the faint of heart, but I was so glad I did it.  Sara loved that I was her coach and we had so much fun together.  Although it was very challenging  for a few main reasons (like 2 sets of sibling boys!), overall I really liked it and would do it again in a heartbeat.  I learned a lot that would help me in future years.  The first year is always the hardest, right?

 

 

 

 

Sara was so excited since she remembers Alex playing soccer last year.  We would play with her on the sidelines and she was so excited to be a “big kid” (my kids are VERY motivated by being “big kids”) playing soccer, just like “Brudder”/Alex. 

 

We got her shin guards and soccer shorts and she was so excited to find out that the shirts were green! They come in all different colors for all the teams and there was a dark green and light green when they handed them out – I said a little prayer – please give me one of the green colors!  And my prayers were answered!  Sara’s favorite color is green and she was so excited!  She also really liked playing with my whistle. 

 

 

 

 

We played all sorts of games and my “goals” for the team were to:

1). have fun

2). make friends

3). learn a tiny bit of soccer

 

In that order.

 

I stole that from Alex’s excellent coach for the last two years.  It works wonders.  If the kids aren’t having fun – do something different. 

 

We played duck, duck, goose (for sheer fun), racing from sideline to sideline (so the kids could start to learn where the infield was), sink your battleship (shooting at a target), dog catcher (slow control over the ball, but then a big kick to make it fun), shooting into the goal (for obvious reasons).  We pretty much did the same thing every Saturday morning, and by the end of the 7 weeks – they really got it!  After the first week I wasn’t so sure this was going to work out!

 

 

Being on the field was hard for me in another way too – I couldn’t take pictures AND coach – so I asked my trusty husband to snap a few.  Thanks honey!  I get to be in some of the pictures too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sara scored some goals and she was SO happy about this!  She would run up to me, beaming with happiness and so proud, and almost knock me over!  There were some big 4 year olds out there, that knew what they were doing, and she did it!  I was so proud of her and it was just so much fun to watch her play.  I enjoyed that part the most.  Just watching her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, as the season drew to a close, the leaves started falling and that was just so much fun on the sidelines too.

 

 

The league gives out soccer medals to each participant and we did a little awards ceremony after our last game.  They reminded me that for some kids, mine included, this would be the first time they received something like this.  So, make it special and call each kid up one at a time and have everyone cheer to make them all feel special. 

 

Sara was so happy about her medal and I was too.  What a great way to end a great season. 

 

What I’ve learned is that we’ll keep doing soccer as long as she’s having fun.