Soccer season is upon us again. Our Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings are once again taken up with practices and games, rushing through meals, packing up the cooler, and struggling to get those shin guards on. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
There are a couple of changes this year.
First and foremost in Alex’s mind is that he now has a yellow shirt with red writing. Quite a change after have two seasons in a blue shirt with yellow writing. Jameson wears an old jersey to cheer him on, since the team name, “EAGLES” is still the same.
(speaking of Jameson, in the middle of the game he decided that he missed his brother, so he ran full-speed into the middle of the field towards him... )
Another change is a new coach. The previous coach’s son decided not to play anymore, so the assistant coach was promoted to head coach. She’s an amazing superwoman—she also coaches her daughter’s team, so she does back-to-back practices and two games each Saturday. (while training for a marathon… but that’s a different story!) The team is thriving under her attention and had a great first game.
Alex had more shots on goal than I’ve ever seen him have… unfortunately no actual scoring, but he was proud of his performance. And that’s really all I need to be confident that we’re spending our time and energy well with soccer.
My favorite change, however, was the addition of Alex’s friend McKinley to the team. He’s a great kid, and a good pal for Alex. He lives one street over, so they got to see each other this summer. After the disappointment that they weren’t in the same class this year, this is a fantastic way to keep the friendship going.
But as great as McKinley is, is it his BIG SISTER who I’m the most excited about. Kathryn has visited our house several times to drop off or pick up her little brother, and she and Jameson struck up quite a connection. Often those pick-ups were extended because I just couldn’t bear to interrupt them, as they sat together and read books or played quietly with toys. Jameson always has a look of utter devotion when he looks at her, and she’s very calm and patient with him. (even after that bloody nose he accidentally gave her)
At the first practice she attended, Jameson and I were struggling to get out of the car, full of toddler angst. She immediately saw him, and ran over to sit down and talk with him. He was thrilled to the core of his little being, and the struggles immediately stopped. I used the lull in toddler wailing to get some paperwork to the coach. Phew, I thought, a little breather from the tantrums. Then this delightful young girl said, "do you mind if I take him over to the playground?"
Umm... no. Not at all. Go for it. For as long as you want!
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