Soccer

So this is old news.. .but I wanted to share it anyway!

Soccer is done differently out this way... in large part because there are many more people and lots of kids who are interested in playing. So there is an actual league which include levels based on age. Arriving when we did, we nearly didn't end up with any players this year. But since they needed one more coach, they asked Bob if he would do it. So, though the girls would not normally have been on the same team, they allowed Beth to "bump up" so he could coach them both!

It was a fun season for them - started in August and ended around the end of October (maybe a week before). So kind of long for what we're use to as well. They had practices in the first few weeks and then it was just games (which were typically two or three a week). They had a lot of fun and the parents were very impressed with Bob's style (focusing both on "fun" as well as teaching skills).

As this was Beth's first year ever playing on a team, I must admit that I was pretty impressed. In the beginning it was pretty obvious that she didn't have experience. Later on, she'd improved, though being so little and all, it was still obvious that she was not as experienced as the older kids on the team. All in all, though, I am very happy with how she played. How she was so enthusiastic. Her favorite thing to do was to giggle with excitement while she was running after or kicking the ball. Her favorite position ended up being goalie - and though she was little and not as experienced, she could hold her own against several of the other teams. She also had incredible defense to protect her! While in goal, she would often dance around and laugh - occassionally laying down because the ball seemed to be staying at the other end of the field.

For Gabi, she improved a lot. Though she's played before, she'd never played on a league like this and the dynamics are certainly different. She made three goals over the season - for which she was very happy - and was the team enthusiast always cheering for any member of the team when they got the ball, kicked the ball, made a goal, etc. She loved making new friends and playing with them. Sometimes she'd be talking with another player or singing songs with them while she was waiting for a chance at the ball. Though having improved tremendously, going after the ball is still not her strong point. She'd go for it until it looks like someone else (even from the other team) has it. Then often she'll pull back and wait to intercept after it's been kicked. But, considering age, I don't think that's so bad!

Anyway, it was a fun season and the boys and I went to most of the games. It was hard on Jeremy because he really just wanted to play (so warm ups were fun because he could be included). On one of the fields, there was a tree that many children (waiting for a playing sibling) would climb. Around it were lots of rocks that they also thought were fun to throw it the "ditch" where the tree was. Jeremy and Peter took part in this.

Peter was really only interested in the naps or the snacks. He'd often fall asleep on the way to the game and stay that way as I carried him up. So he'd either sleep on me or on a blanket we'd managed to get spread out. Peter would like to play, but it's not the problem it was for Jeremy (at least not yet) and that's good, because he's got at least another year to wait through before his turn comes up!