The end of soccer...for now

This is very late in posting, but soccer season has finally come to an end for the girls.
I am happy for the lightened load in our schedule (no more practices Tues and Thurs nights, and no more Saturdays being tied up with games). But I have to admit...
I really loved soccer season.

I loved being outdoors and enjoying the fresh air.
I loved watching the girls run and play (especially W since she was more 'into it' than T was...although T did kick it in gear in a few games, especially the last few, and then it was very exciting to watch her play and really give it her full effort).
I loved being around all the other soccer parents, many of whom I already knew, and getting a chance to get to know the parents of our kids' teammates/classmates who I didn't already know.
Even though I am horrible with remembering names, I recognize faces and I really want to get to know these parents and kids who my kids will likely be growing up with.
I want to be in on the 'ground floor' with these kids. I want them to think back when they are in high school and remember that they know me, "T or W's mom", from 'way back when', and therefore, hopefully, will respect that relationship and be on their best behavior around me and my kids. If I am their homeroom mom when they are little, and always around as they are growing up, (at games/practices/events), then hopefully they will feel that connection to me as a trustworthy adult that they can come to if they need help. And even more importantly, maybe through my interaction with them through the years they will stay on the right track and not veer off into 'bad' territory. Maybe that is a lofty aspiration (I don't have special powers to keep them on the straight and narrow), but when I was a kid I remember looking up to my friends' parents and showing them respect. Part of that respect was to behave properly because I knew they all knew me and my parents, and nothing I did would be a secret...so I should be sure to always try to do the right thing.
(Now I am certainly not saying I was perfect as a kid. I wasn't. I did experiment, and thankfully learned I didn't want to go very far down those roads. But one time when I did mess up in public, and it was a friend's parent who saw me and alerted my parents to my suspicious behavior... although the barf in my bed later that night wasn't hard to miss, so my drinking fiasco wouldn't have been a secret for long anyway lol). The point is, if parents KNOW the kids in town, then they can help keep them on the right track. I want to be one of those parents that my kids' friends recognize and know whose parent I am, and therefore know that I am there...not only watching out for them, but watching them also.
Obviously, at this age (pre-k and 4th grade) its more of the former than latter, but as they grow older it may be the latter. Who knows, maybe that knowledge and history will help the kids make good choices. I hope so.
Anyway, all of this to say,
I really enjoyed soccer season, but it is now over, and I am also glad.
I like having weekends free again, and no more double practices twice a week during dinner time. It was fun and I hope W will do it again. T has already emphatically informed us that she will not be playing again. That is ok. At least she tried it, and it turned out it wasn't something she wanted to continue with. T's difficulty was she didn't like running (soccer is a lot of running), and she hadn't grasped the competitive spirit of 'giving it all you've got' no matter what. That frustrated her dad and I (especially her dad). But at least she didn't quit, and she did have some shining moments where she really did put forth the effort. Especially in the last two games. In fact in the last game she almost got two goals (but they were deflected away. She probably should have dribbled them in closer before going for the goal kick...but it was her first season, and I think she did good). She did get one goal in the second game of the season. That was really exciting :) Obviously getting goals at her age group is a lot harder than in W's class, since W doesn't play against a goalie and T does. I'm still proud of her no matter what! I love her and think she did great.
W's soccer experience was alot different. W was the star of her team :) 
Most of the other players hadn't played before, but this was her second season so she had a little bit of experience and therefore a better attention span for the game. At W's age, attention span can be a BIG detriment to any practice or game lol. She got tons of goals throughout the season totally about 26 I think. In fact, in one game she got 6 goals! She is super fast and is just a really great soccer player. I really hope she chooses to play again because I think she has potential if she wants to continue it. We told the girls we would pay them a dollar for every goal scored and if they got 2 goals in a game we would take them out for donuts. W was so funny, because after every goal she would immediately look over at us with a huge grin, give us the thumbs up sign, then hold up the number of fingers of how many goals she was on. lol.  I think she was more excited about those donuts than anything else ha ha.
Anyway, she did great. They both did, and we are very proud of them. Here are some fun action shots from a game.


W taking the ball to the goal, in control the whole time :)




Catching up and stealing that ball from the white team.




Orange #1 is W. She is about to get that ball away from #8 and make a goal!




T is on the far right, practicing before her final game.

The 'away' field we play at has 2 amazing trees in the parking lot, that of course I had to take advantage of with some 'camera time'. I got a dozen or more great shots! here are a few...



Here is W wrestling with/picking on Grandpa during T's game.



After the game I got some great shots of T in the tree too...



These trees with their textures and shapes were just GREAT photo locations!




Our family. Me in my 'soccer gear', Orange team colors and a ballcap to keep the sun out of my eyes (I NEVER wear hats!)



Soccer time for W

Soccer season has started  and W is in her second season. She is really enjoying it and doing super duper well! At the game where these pictures were taken she scored 6 (!) goals! She is doing awesome and we are really proud of her.

She is in white with the ball in the center.



Running fast!




She kicks, she scores!!!!




Big smiles




silly girl



Super happy smiles after all those goals. Dan made a deal with her that she gets a dollar for every goal, but after 2 goals she gets to get donuts for breakfast the next morning. So it really funny because when she scores she'll run back down the field nodding her head at us and mouthing the words 'donuts'  lol.  Or she'll have her fingers up counting the number of goals (and  hence dollars) she is getting. lol It is so cute and funny. She is doing a great job!

T's first goal!

T has been playing basketball for a couple years, and has done gymnastics as well. This spring she decided to try her hand at soccer.  (W played in the fall, so this is W's second season of soccer). Its a bit harder for T to start this now though, because even though she is only in 4th grade, lots of the other girls have played before, or been playing since they were in pre-k like W. She is working on learning the rules and the fundamentals of the game. I think she is doing good, although I can tell she doesn't always know what's going on or what she's doing because I'll see her talk to her team mates and they'll direct her her what position to go to (which is good that they are working together and communicating). She can run really fast when she wants to, which could be really good in this sport. But... she doesn't seem to be very conditioned yet, so she gets really tired and then will walk instead of running down the field. She hasn't seemed to learn yet to 'bring it' no matter what. Hopefully, with some more running and practicing she'll get more conditioned and be able to push herself to give it her all. In the league she is in they have goalies (W doesn't) so even though they may bring the ball down to the goal, with a goalie playing against them, it is much harder to get a goal. In their first game last week, they led the whole game, right up till the end where in the last 2 minutes they lost by one point. This week, they played their second game and won 4-2...
T got her first ever GOAL!!!!!!!  It was very exciting and I was so happy for her and so proud of her!  Way to go T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So cute!



That's T in the white jersey with black leggings and long sleeved black shirt underneath on the right in the foreground. In this picture she's ACTUALLY running!  (She gets tired a lot and we have to yell at her to RUN  lol)



T dribbling the ball



Misc Sept pictures

 This is what we do to our kids at our house when they misbehave...put them in a crate!

 T all dressed up for 'prom day' at school.

 W all smiles at the h.s. football game snuggled between grandma and grandpa.

 W is chasing the ball on the right in the orange.

Look at her go! She really seems to have a fun time playing soccer. It really is good exercise, she is all red and sweaty after every practice!

soccer!

W started soccer this fall. I just had to post this picture I took at the first practice because I thought it was so adorable and looked like such perfect form (to me, but I don't know anything about soccer ha ha). She is enjoying it, but boy is her face red and sweaty after running around after the ball for 20 minutes at every practice :) Good exercise though! Now, if only I could convince her sister to try it :)