Soccer

All four of our kids played soccer this season and Nate was the coach for Emily’s team. It took a little bit of juggling to get everyone to their practices and games, but we managed. Luckily both Ben and Elise ended up on teams with one of their good friends so we could carpool. That made things lots easier. We were lousy at taking pictures. We’ll do better next season. Fortunately they took team pictures early this year, so at least we have those.

Between a bye, a cancelled game, and missing a game for Kevin’s funeral, Ben only had four games this season. I couldn’t believe how well he played during the first game of the season. All of a sudden he had skills and some aggressiveness. I was impressed. Apparently it was just a fluke. He was back to our regular middle-of-the-road Ben for the rest of the season.


Emily had a few days where she proved my theory that the coach’s kid is always the whiniest kid on the team, but she was mostly good. There are a couple of really talented players on her team. They held their own during every game, but only managed to win one game. Nate is hopeful for a few more wins in the spring. He feels more confident in his coaching skills now that he has a year under his belt and thinks it is lots easier to coach girls than boys.


Athleticism seems to come more naturally to Elise than to our other kids. She has good instincts and plays with a lot of heart. She never complained about going to practices or games. It helped that her best friend is on her team, but she just really loves to play. She was sad when she had to miss a couple of games this season. Her team missed her too since she usually manages to score a goal or two during every game.


This was Abby’s first year playing soccer. She loved playing! Every time she would kick the ball, she would look over at us with a big grin to make sure we saw. She’s on a team with some super aggressive girls and some that cry and don’t want to play. Her coach told Abby one day that she was the happiest player on the team. She hasn’t forgotten that little compliment and reminds me of it whenever we talk about soccer.