Soccer Mom

I have entered a new stage of life...soccer mom!

I had all three boys by myself last night, as James had to work late and was going to meet us at the fields. When we arrived, I felt a surge of excitement run through me. It was chaos - but a good kind of chaos, as all the kids and parents wove through the throngs to find their team and jerseys. It's hard to describe, but the moment I stepped into the area I felt the mantle of soccer mom fall on me and knew that I was going to love this part of parenthood.

It was a crummy evening, but the organizers had already canceled the first two weeks due to weather. It had been raining on and off all day, including thundershowers in the morning. But when 6pm rolled around, I had decided that, canceled or not, I was heading up to the fields with my own ball. Colin was simply too disappointed after two rainy Wednesdays not to at least go up and kick around a ball. Gratefully the organizers knew that the kids would want to play as long as it wasn't teeming rain. So we froze our fingers and cheered in the drizzle, and the kids had a blast.



These six kids from Colin's team all found each other on their own, and started running down the hill hand in hand, over and over again. Talk about instinctive team building! (Colin is second from the left).


Colin's very first kick during practice. The kids have half hour of practice first, and then play a game. Colin is in the 4-6 year old league. There are about 10 kids on each team, and about 8 teams. His team is called "Kreator Equipement" (the teams are named after their sponsors). I think it would be neat if one year in the future Senior Moving can sponsor a team. And I'm sure at one point or another I'll coach!


During the game. Colin is the one in the red in the middle. He was right in the middle of the action throughout the entire game. There was one point where he was the only red shirt in a sea of blue opponents! He wasn't shy about trying to get in and kick the ball, but also seemed to understand to hold back when a lot of his teammates were already there. What can I say - the kid's a natural! (Guess where he gets it from.)
Everyone after the ball! In traditional 4 year old style, all the kids moved in one giant group after the ball.

Team huddle at the end of the game. Only 4 kids on our team survived the cold until the very end. Colin is number 2. The man in the red shirt, squatting down with them is Thomas, their coach. He's a young guy, perhaps even still in high school. He is a little unsure around the little kids, but he's really nice and the kids like him.

So the soccer season begins! It's a bit of a drive out to this league, but it's a much more relaxed atmosphere than the league in town, as well as only half the cost. A good friend has her girls on Colin's team, so there will always be friends and fun every Wednesday night for us!