Great Effort, Great Win
Apr. 1st, 2012 05:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thisnewdayNine weeks into their second 10-week winter session, our grandson's under-9, co-ed soccer team won their first soccer game. It was an especially good win because every kid on the team contributed to it. In fact, because of the even spread of individual contributions, it would've been a good game even if they hadn't won. But of course the win made it even better.
Jason contributed, as usual, with two goals and at least a couple of assists. One of his goals was a breakaway where he basically passed ahead to himself and then turned on the jets to beat the defenders. Which never fails to bring the crowd to its feet. But there were also a lot of nice passes between Jason, Hector, Maya, Caleb, and Landry. And our eight goals were scored by five different kids.
Hector was positively electrifying on defense, passed well, and had a nice breakaway of his own, although he barely missed scoring a goal off of it. He also provided one of the scariest moments of any of our games when he got tangled up with the opposing goalie and was catapulted into the wall beside the goal.
Maya made several of those booming kicks of hers, one of which scored a goal, and several times showed that amazing speed which always gets the crowd up and involved in the game.
And Caleb lived up to his nickname, "Tank," as he battled through opposing players along the walls of this arena-like field.
But no individual highlight, no matter how amazing, could possibly overshadow the team effort that resulted in this first, convincing, 8-4 win. If you insist on talking highlights, it was a game of highlights and every kid had at least one. Which feels really good to say after such a long and frustrating indoor season.
We now have two weeks off for the Easter season and then a final game on April 20th. And that will be our last game as a co-ed team. Which is kind of sad because they've been together, many of them, since their first outdoor season as 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds. Because even though we separated into boys' and girls' teams for last year's outdoor season, we still practiced together in anticipation of re-uniting as a co-ed team in the fall.
This year, however, the kids will be parting ways for good and the only way we'll hear from some of them again is if they continue on and make the papers as varsity players in high school. Which is a few years away and down a piece of the road which, at my age, you don't know if you'll even be on. But if I am, I know that I'll remember the names, even if I have trouble connecting them with their grown-up faces.
I guess in anticipation of what comes after this spring, the coach told me before the game that we need to start lining up a house team for Jason to play on in the fall. He said that he's got a lot of natural talent and really needs to be somewhere that it'll continue to be developed.
Which pretty much echoes what David, the former European soccer pro, said but it was nice to hear it from the coach and good of him to give us the heads-up that we need to get started on it soon. Because the next level begins with competitive tryouts, not walking in and signing up.
So, with a couple weeks off, we'll relax a little, play some "wall ball," have a little fun. But in the meantime "Poppa" will be talking to a few people--including, I think, Hector's dad--to figure out what the best options are after one last season in the place where it all began...
LPK
LiveJournal
4.1.2012
Jason contributed, as usual, with two goals and at least a couple of assists. One of his goals was a breakaway where he basically passed ahead to himself and then turned on the jets to beat the defenders. Which never fails to bring the crowd to its feet. But there were also a lot of nice passes between Jason, Hector, Maya, Caleb, and Landry. And our eight goals were scored by five different kids.
Hector was positively electrifying on defense, passed well, and had a nice breakaway of his own, although he barely missed scoring a goal off of it. He also provided one of the scariest moments of any of our games when he got tangled up with the opposing goalie and was catapulted into the wall beside the goal.
Maya made several of those booming kicks of hers, one of which scored a goal, and several times showed that amazing speed which always gets the crowd up and involved in the game.
And Caleb lived up to his nickname, "Tank," as he battled through opposing players along the walls of this arena-like field.
But no individual highlight, no matter how amazing, could possibly overshadow the team effort that resulted in this first, convincing, 8-4 win. If you insist on talking highlights, it was a game of highlights and every kid had at least one. Which feels really good to say after such a long and frustrating indoor season.
We now have two weeks off for the Easter season and then a final game on April 20th. And that will be our last game as a co-ed team. Which is kind of sad because they've been together, many of them, since their first outdoor season as 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds. Because even though we separated into boys' and girls' teams for last year's outdoor season, we still practiced together in anticipation of re-uniting as a co-ed team in the fall.
This year, however, the kids will be parting ways for good and the only way we'll hear from some of them again is if they continue on and make the papers as varsity players in high school. Which is a few years away and down a piece of the road which, at my age, you don't know if you'll even be on. But if I am, I know that I'll remember the names, even if I have trouble connecting them with their grown-up faces.
I guess in anticipation of what comes after this spring, the coach told me before the game that we need to start lining up a house team for Jason to play on in the fall. He said that he's got a lot of natural talent and really needs to be somewhere that it'll continue to be developed.
Which pretty much echoes what David, the former European soccer pro, said but it was nice to hear it from the coach and good of him to give us the heads-up that we need to get started on it soon. Because the next level begins with competitive tryouts, not walking in and signing up.
So, with a couple weeks off, we'll relax a little, play some "wall ball," have a little fun. But in the meantime "Poppa" will be talking to a few people--including, I think, Hector's dad--to figure out what the best options are after one last season in the place where it all began...
LPK
LiveJournal
4.1.2012
