Soccer

We survived our first (and last) year of soccer with all four kids playing. It was actually less hectic than I was expecting. It helped that Elise was on Cecily’s team and Ben was on Korbin’s team, so we could carpool. With Nate coaching Emily’s team, I was in charge of getting the other three kids to their games each Saturday. Some weeks it was a group effort, coordinating schedules with Claudy and Emily, to make that happen. Thank goodness for friends. 

Ben got a new coach for spring season. He was a nice guy and Ben really liked him. I only made it to about half of Ben’s games. He was very hit-and-miss again this season. Some games he did great and others . . . not so much. There was one game when he was the only player on his team to score a goal. That was a good day! After six years, we decided it was time for Ben to hang up his soccer cleats. I think he is just as ready for a break as we are. 

Emily’s heart just didn’t seem to be in the game this season. I had already decided that this would probably be the last time we signed her up, and by the end of the season I was sure that was the best choice. I was glad Nate got a chance to coach her. It was good bonding time for them and Nate really enjoyed it. Their team made huge progress. They won 2 out of 7 games in the fall and 6 out of 7 games in the spring. It was a fun way to finish off Emily’s AYSO career. 

Elise likes soccer lots more than any of the other kids and she is a pretty good little player. Her coach was a teenage boy (the brother of one of her teammates) and he kind of drove me nuts. He didn’t really work on any skills or strategy with the girls. Luckily there were some great players on the team, so they held their own during most of the games in spite of the sub-par coaching. I’m excited to see how she does next year with Nate as a coach. 

 Abby had a great game face and ran around the field like a pro, but she wasn’t a big fan of actually kicking the ball. She would do an awesome little run-in-place move whenever she was close to the ball like she was just waiting for someone else to get there to kick it. She’s lots more aggressive when she plays with her sisters in the back yard. It will be interesting to see how she does as she gets a little older.