Flying Wyatt

And now, we bring you, the Amazing, Gravity-Defying, Wyatt! He breaks the laws of Physics, he controls the slippery soccer ball, he defends the goal, almost nothing gets by (None Shall Pass), and he (almost) never falls!

Wyatt said, "This picture looks like I'm coming in for a landing, after a flight, like I was a bird."

One down, two to go

We had Tate's end-of-season soccer party tonight. After practice, Coach Dan gave the kids each a pep talk and an award with a ribbon, (and we parents gave the coaches gift certificates), and then spent a half hour or so playing the traditional kids vs. parents game.

I have no pride... they creamed us, 5 to 1. And not like when they were littler, and we diddled around, being careful not to kick the ball too hard and hurt them, and letting them "steal" it from us.... No, the third graders ran circles around us. And then had the nerve to roll their eyes and say, "It gets easier every year"!

Really, I LOVE soccer...

I do, really. But we are two days from the end of this season and I am SO READY! All three boys went to soccer camp last August, then right into the fall season. Wyatt and Tate both played the indoor league until Christmas, and Tate played again (indoor) from January to March, which brought us to the so-called spring season (which, I must say, has been some sort of endurance event, given the strange weather this year!), and we are almost DONE!

I love watching the boys play. I'm thrilled with the coaching they have been getting - many thanks to Brian, Dan, and Sheila. I like the friends they've made from their teams. And I enjoy getting to know the other Soccer Moms and Dads. But still, we've had non-stop soccer for about nine months now, and it's time for a rest!

Sign-ups for fall season start in 57 days...

1000 Words?

I have to confess that I am hopelessly behind at putting our family photo albums together... years behind. The upside of this is that when I run across photos like this one, it's like seeing it for the first time! Or it might be the first time...

My parents are removing lots of photo files from their computer and put everything of my kids on disks (since I have no idea what I already have, or don't have!) This photo, I believe, is from three years ago, when Tate was a kinder.

Tate LOVES soccer. It may have something to do with the fact that his hearing issues just don't matter. Yeah, we have to tell the 'ref' that he may not hear the whistle, and he can't often hear the coach calling from the sidelines... but how many of those kids listen anyway?!

I have no idea what just happened in this picture! There's a lot of motion from left to right, but what is the connection between the mischievous look on Tate's face and the expression of the boy in the blue?! (I think if you click on it, it will get bigger.)

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I'd like to hear this story!

U11 Wyatt

Wyatt amazes me. If you could harness that boy, you could light Seattle. Many games, he'll play the whole hour without being subbed out, and he hardly ever stops running full bore. His agility and speed are incredible, and he rarely seems intimidated, though he's often going up against boys who are bigger... sometimes a lot bigger. Wyatt just runs them into the ground.

Of course, he has had wonderful coaching and plays with a great bunch of boys.

For some reason, I think my boys are all genetically programmed to play defense... or maybe they're following Wyatt's example. They all gravitate to it, and Wyatt has set the bar pretty high. I tell him I want to get him a soccer shirt that says "NONE SHALL PASS", but he gets kind of embarrassed. He's got the strategy and the speed to keep most of the other team's players away from the goal, and can often run them down if they try for a break-away.

Wyatt's branching out these days, and getting in on a bit of offensive action too. Where he got the coordination from, I have no idea, but it's a thing of beauty.

U9 Tate

Tate has been playing soccer, indoor and outdoor, non-stop since August and it really shows! He's always loved playing 'last man back', with two of his buddies, but now he's branching out, and asking to play mid- and even forward. He gained a lot of confidence and his ball handling has improved too.

Tate has also gotten better at changing direction. Used to be that once he took off running for the ball, he was kind of like a cannon ball that had been launched, and woe to anyone or anything in his path. (Anyone meeting Tate head-on is still likely to end up on the ground, as you can see in the first picture.) He's not a rough (mean) player at all, the boy just has a lot of momentum!

Tate's playing a smarter game, as well as showing more ability to maneuver around players. Mostly, the key word for Tate is determination. I've seen him surrounded by three players from the other team, and he'll come out with the ball, moving toward the goal. I don't have a picture of it, but in his last game he scored the only goal! Way to go Tater-bug!

U7 Gunnar

Gunnar is really enjoying soccer this spring, in spite of getting bumped up from the U6 to the U7 league. He seems tiny next to some of the other players (!) and he's not particularly competitive. Still, he's gaining confidence and going after the ball more. He even managed to score in one or two of the games! More importantly - to Gunnar - he's been to three team-mates' birthday parties, and one boy is coming home from practice with us this week to play.

The team is developing more skills too, and that is fun to watch. The 1st grade and Kinder teams actually split in half and play on two fields, just 3 on 3, or 4 on 4. It makes sense really, because why would you want more than 8 kids mobbing the ball at a time? They don't exactly play positions yet! But they're getting the idea, more and more. Last season, what looked like passing was really just poor ball control. This season there is actually some strategy developing. It's fun to watch. :0)

Spring Soccer

Spring soccer... NW style.
No sissies here!