Soccer Season

Yesterday we had the first official games of this year's soccer season. This is Joey's 4th year of soccer, and Kristin's first. We just love watching them play - even though I must admit that it makes Saturdays VERY busy for us!

First was Kristin's game. Kristin's is on the gold team, and their name is The Unicorns. Kristin's struggled a bit during practices. She's still learning how to play, and gets frustrated when she doesn't get things on the first try. So she's had a few times where she's walked off the field pouting. We talked to her about how important it is to keep trying, and to play as a team. When the game started yesterday, Kristin had a rough start. She said her stomach hurt and she wasn't really playing. Then at one point she got hit in the stomach with the ball during a throw-in. I was worried she was going to quit, but she eventually got out there. She even scored two goals!Joey's game came next. He's on the lime green team this year, and their team name is The Hulks. Last year, I posted here on the blog about how Joey wasn't always that attentive to the game. He'd often miss the ball because he was watching dragonflies or kicking at the dirt. But yesterday was a tough year for Joey, dealing with losing his Grandpa (not to mention moving to a new house and getting a new brother!). This year, Joey is an entirely different player. He was really into the game. And boy, did he run his butt off!He also really stuck with the player he was supposed to cover, while still staying open so teammates could pass the ball to him if needed.It was one of the best soccer games he's ever played. Maybe he never scored a goal, and I don't even know if the team won the game or not. But he certainly did his best, and we can't ask for much more than that!Thanks to Wendy for taking all the photos! (And for helping me wrangle Simon along with all the other equipment we had to lug around to the games!)