Fall Soccer

We stayed busy during soccer season this Fall.  Sadie was able to play for the first time.  She had a lot of motivation and aggression, but she’s not quite coordinated enough to follow through.  She did try really hard though!  Half the time she said she didn’t like soccer, half the time she seemed like she was having a good time.  It didn’t help that her games were at 1:00 in the heat.  Brynlee did well.  She was our top scorer!  They are super cute!  Look how beet-red they got.  Seriously, it’s hot!

Dylan played with the same tough coach he had in the Spring.  He whined about this fact a little, but most of the time he enjoyed it.  He did have to do a lot of work at practices so he said he didn’t like practice, just games.  Of course.  There were only two players from last season on his team and there were a lot that really hadn’t played before.  The coaches worked really hard and a lot of the boys seemed to improve a ton as the season went on. The first practice was SO hot!  Dylan got so red.

We didn’t lose much.  But there was one particular game we were getting killed.  Then they put Dylan in as goalie.  He must’ve had the ball in his goal box 20+ times.  He stopped a lot of them, but also let a few in.  I snapped these pictures of a really scary block.  One thing about Dylan is he’s not scared very often.

It cracks me up, that guy flipping over Dylan!

That was third quarter and I was relieved when the quarter was over because I didn’t like watching him in the goalie box.  But then they put him in again!!  What?  He had let at least three shots in.  Later when I asked him he said they let him stay in because they thought he was doing a good job.  I guess he volunteered because he was having fun.  He has a couple flaws with his goalie technique.  First, he wanders way too far away from the goal.  He comes way up in the box.  Half the time it’s fine because he intercepts the ball early.  But if someone comes on the side, he’s screwed.  Even his coaches were yelling at him to get in front of the goal and back up.  Second, when he picks up the ball, he hasn’t mastered the drop-kick.  So usually he just tosses it.  Unfortunately he doesn’t get it to go very far and a lot of times it’s not down the side to one of his teammates.  So it ends up in the possession of one of the other team and they have a pretty easy shot.  This happens with goal kicks too.  Most the team just hasn’t quite gotten the hang of taking it down the side.

Dylan will often lose focus and get tired during the game.  He hadn’t really gone after it hard.  So near the end of the season I told him I would give him $5 if he scored.  He really hadn’t even came very close to scoring.  So I was willing to offer that much.  Well, I couldn’t believe the change in him.  All of a sudden he was running his heart out.  He was attacking every chance he got.  He was focused and fast.  It was completely different from every other game.  I was blown away.  He worked so hard and came close, but he didn’t get a goal that time.  He had a couple games left so I told him the deal still stood for the next game.  This time I invited Grandpa and Grandma.  Grandma came to all the games when she was in town.  But Grandpa hadn’t been yet because he doesn’t go out in the evenings much.  So Grandpa came and decided to add some extra incentive and promised Dylan $5 from him as well.  So yeah, Dylan had good reason to give it his all.  And he did.  He played so hard.  He did so well!  He even took the ball down the side many times.  He took quite a few shots.  In the last quarter he was put in as defender.  So we figured that was that, he wouldn’t be able to score.  Well, Dylan didn’t accept that.  He saw an opportunity and took the ball all the way from his spot as defender up to the goal and scored.  It was awesome.  So what that he wasn’t playing his position.  I don’t think his coach was complaining too much.

I was so proud.  At the end of the game he was beet-red and exhausted.  But Grandpa and I both paid up and he was happy.

He came close to scoring again at his last game but never pulled it off.  I think he could really enjoy soccer if he got into it like that every time.  I love watching it.

I really love watching Kylee play soccer!  Her team is really good.  That whole league is really good so it makes it more interesting to watch.  They handle the ball well.  They have cool plays.  And Kylee loves it!  Her first game of the season she scored two goals.  The only two goals scored by either team.  But then she didn’t score again.  At least not for awhile.  Grandpa came to watch her last couple games and he offered her the same he had offered Dylan.  It was only fair.  I did not offer her money from me.  I explained that when she was Dylan’s age I had offered her money and she had won it just like Dylan did.  But now she doesn’t need that incentive.  But Grandpa wanted to see her at her best so he brought his money.

She has been with this same coach for years.  There was another guy coaching too this season since we are at BYSL again.  And he did a great job.  Jamie heard about the deal.  And Kylee’s friend Addison had the same deal with her dad, who happens to be friends with Ken and Cheryl.  Jamie was trying so hard to get Kylee in position to score, but Kylee just wasn’t quite doing it.  Instead of being patient and waiting for someone to pass to her, she was trying to take it herself and go all the way.  She didn’t trust others to pass up to her.  And when someone was bringing it up towards her, she would go towards them as if to take it from her teammate instead of headed up getting ready for a pass.  I’m sure it’s easier to see on the sideline than in the game.  But it was frustrating.  Finally at one of the last games she got the hang of it.  She took so many shots those last few games!  But the goalie stopped most of them.  She did get her goal and her money from Grandpa.  But most of all, she had fun.  She was kind of obsessed.  She wanted to play soccer constantly!  She still does.  I’m glad that she loves it.  I hope she continues to love it and improve.

I didn’t take my camera to her games.  Her field is like a mile away from the parking lot and I always had the baby and often a chair or blanket to sit on.  It was just too much to bring my camera.  But I took some video.  This is the only picture I got after her first game, and it’s distorted a little because it’s my phone and too close.  Oh well.

I hope we can get Kylee playing indoor soon.  I’m not sure she can wait until Spring!