put a little sole into it

Friday night Toby and Charlotte each had their first soccer games. Rob and I don't have much of a background in team sports (at all,) so the whole family was kind of excited and a bit nervous leading up to these games. They have been enjoying practice, and they both have great volunteer coaches teaching them some basic skills, but we just didn't know what to expect come game time. What happened was NOT surprising, but it was hilarious, and Charlotte and Toby's very different personalities came out full force on the field.

Toby was up first. His team of 3-4 year olds have mostly never played before. He has one little girl on his team that can REALLY play. (Seriously, she is a killer in pigtails.) At this age they allow the coaches to be on the field to help direct the action. There is no ref. It is slightly organized chaos.

In practice, Toby listened very closely to his coach, sometimes, but would get distracted by everything going on around him. There is one little boy on his team though that won't even get on the field yet, so I guess that's normal.

In the game, Toby was awesome.

Whenever the coach would say things like, "Who thinks they can get the ball?" Toby would jump up and yell "I can!!" He was all enthusiasm and joy. He ran up and down that field the whole game. And he kicked the ball like 5 times. Maybe. He was just happy to be there and so proud of himself. It had Rob and I grinning from ear to ear on the sidelines.

Next up was Charlotte's game.

Charlotte has a difficult time listening during practice because she is very busy socializing with the other players and kicking the dirt. She is here for the party! These 5-6 year olds have mostly been playing for a year or two and a few of her teammates seem to be frustrated by her flightiness already, and to them all I can say is, "I feel your pain." ;)

Charlotte's game had a referee... and a VERY particular one at that. He made sure they followed every rule. I realize they have to learn these things at some point, but the very first game for some of them??? I guess it's good to start off on the right foot? Anyway. Charlotte started off strong! She ran hard- for about 3 minutes. Then she got frustrated that she wasn't getting to kick the ball and stood on the field gesturing- Shock! Frustration! Twirling and leaping like a ballerina!

She sat out the second quarter. At the half we asked her how she was feeling and she said, "Oh, the coach just had to talk to me about some stuff." (In a way to suggest that she is the assistant coach and wasn't riding the pine pony.) Even the mom next to us burst out laughing at that one.

In the third quarter Charlotte stumbled upon the idea of defense. (Less running involved.) And she was really pretty good at it! She blocked a goal and LOVED hearing all the parents cheer for her and kicked the ball away from the other team when they would approach. I think she has found her niche. :)

So this is our life for the next couple of months. Like I said, Rob and I had a great time, so I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. Rob was genuinely surprised that he had so much fun watching these pee-wees play. I just hope it doesn't get too dang hot. It's already reached 90 here once, and the temp is bound to be warmer in May!