The End, For Now

Christian's soccer season is officially over...early on, several games were rained out, so the season lasted a bit longer than it normally would have.  The weather for the last couple of games was beautiful, though.  Their final game was last night and they played so well.  The boys really put forth a great effort each game; they played as a team, passed the ball, and worked together for the most part.  It was wonderful to see them improving all the time.

The last three games Christian came out of his soccer shell, so to speak.  I think it was the game before the last one that he scored a goal right off the bat (oops, wrong sport!) and after that it was like someone lit a fire under his rear!  He was never far from the ball, and he tried hard to get it out from the middle of any given pack of boys (when first-grade soccer turns into rugby...) and then kick and dribble it down the field in order to score.  He would slide into the ball to avoid colliding with fellow players.  He would put his foot on top of the ball and pull it backwards (I'm sure there's a technical soccer term for that maneuver, I just don't know what it is).  It was so fun to watch him play aggressively and have such a good time.

Here are some pictures from the last game.  Grandmas and Grandpas, enjoy!  Other folks can enjoy, too, if you are inclined to continue!

Watch carefully...

Did you notice?  Yes, he kicked his shoe off, and kept right on playing!  He didn't stop to put it back on for a couple of minutes...the coach actually brought it over to him and made him stop running so he could slip the cleat on.

One thing I heard several of the other parents say is,"He's so fast!" 

He is fast...he would zip down the field ahead of everyone...

and he could control the ball pretty well, too.  His skills improved so much this season; it was amazing.  I didn't get any great shots of this, but he really seems to like, and be good at, defending the goal.  At this stage there is no official goalie, but there were several times when he literally came out of nowhere appearing right in front of the goal in order to knock the ball either out of bounds or to the side.  He was so speedy! 

Like each boy, he received a medal and a trophy...he was so proud.  This was his best season so far, and I'm looking forward to many more years of shin guards and cleats! 

It's That Time Again

We have now begun the soccer season...the games were delayed the first week (and Christian's second one, too) because of the rain, but now the kids are back on the field.

Here are some shots of each of them in their first games this fall. 

Michaela is the one throwing the ball in. 

In past soccer seasons she has been a bit hesitant, but so far this time has seemed a little more comfortable going after the ball...

She's playing on a different team this fall so she'll be making new friends.  The rest of the girls all go to school together, but she doesn't seem to mind or feel like the odd one out.  She's so friendly and cheerful-it's good to see her meet new people with such ease.

Christian is playing on a team made up of boys from his school (except for one young man), but they are from different classes.  They did a great job tonight in their first game. 

A little warm-up...

Christian went in the 2nd and 4th quarters.  He played so well!  He got in the mix when he could, waited for the right opportunities, hung back, kicked the ball to other players...

And then he scored a goal!  You can see the ball rolling in...

That was so exciting.  I got pictures of him afterward, jumping and then hugging Mike, but they are all blurry-I'm sad about that.  I'm not sure what I did wrong.  I wish they had turned out, because the look on his face was so priceless. 

Look, I decided to put one on here anyway.  You can tell how happy he is (I also noticed that in this picture there is a man who was closer to me than Christian and he is perfectly in focus...I cropped him out.  But that would explain why all else was blurry.  Wah.)

I also managed to capture him in a moment that looks as though he had only one leg.  That would make it even trickier to score a goal, eh? 

There will be plenty more games, and I hope to do a better job photographing the next ones!  As far as the kids go, I'm sure they will keep up their good work!