Coincidence? I Think Not...

There are times I'm glad to be wrong, and yesterday was one of them.

Although I'm a big fan of "let's keep this simple", I had some concerns about the wisdom of planning Gunnar's team's end-of-season party for immediately following the game.  At the field.  But it worked out great.  Sure it was a bit chilly, but not raining or blowing.  Thank you, Lord!

In an eight-week soccer season we only had one Saturday we got rained on.  Which is why I love fall soccer a million times more than spring soccer.  And now we're DONE.  All my little chicks are back in the nest.  The days are getting shorter and darker, and I'm looking forward to lots of cozy evenings, reading together before bed.

On the way home I joked to the boys, "Now that soccer is done, let the monsoons come!  I don't care!"

And guess what happened last night... the wind came up, the rain poured down, and I lay in bed under my down comforter and giggled.

Saturday Morning

We had to divide and conquer this weekend.

Wyatt and Tate's game overlapped Gunnar's.

And it was sunny.

And warm.

Glorious.

In fact, sometimes it's hard to concentrate on the game...

... when you have a view like this.

And, if you want a little lesson in meteorology...

those lenticular clouds you see

mean the weather is changing.

Sure enough, it was blowing and raining by about midnight.

'Tis the Season

Soccer season, that is.  Time to get back in the dinner's-in-the-crockpot groove.

The league put on a free two-hour clinic tonight and I took all three boys.

Even though I feel rotten.

Yay, me.

Gunnar heard from his coach and is thrilled to be with the same group as always, but the other two boys have a bit of a change.

Wyatt's team (a combined U13/U14) looked to be short a few boys... and a coach, and Tate's age group (U12) had more than plenty of boys for one team, but not enough for two.  So Tate's coach from last year agreed to move up to the U13/14 team with his U12 son, and since Tate has played with this coach before and has a brother on the team, he got invited to "play up". 

I think the registrar must think like me - very practically - because my first thought was not, Oh, I hope Tate can handle playing with the Big Boys, but Oh!  Hurray!  Two boys will have the same practice and game times!  Woo-hoo!  You know, because that means we'll basically have 2/3 the chaos we usually have during soccer season.


And in other news...

I feel really, really rotten.

Yes, I already mentioned that, didn't I?

Going to lay low (lie low?  lay low?) for the next couple days in hopes of feeling much better by Sunday.  It's nothing worrisome - just a bad cold.  Gunnar is hacking too.

Prayers are welcome :oP

Could I Please Have A Boring Day?

Lots going on here and not enough time to write about it.  Maybe tomorrow.  I started to count how many times I have been in and out of the van in the last two or three days and it was a ridiculous amount. (You know, the life of a stay-at-home mom... eyes roll.)

We've been to Gunnar's AWANA Awards Night (mentioned below,) to the usual round of soccer practices, on an amazing field trip which needs a separate post of its own, but here's a teaser...

Photograph by Tate

... and today, we spent six warmish, breezy hours going from soccer game to soccer game (with a picnic!), and we closed out spring soccer.  Amen and Hallelujah.

It has been a long hard slog, this season, in part due to the weather, and then there were other discouraging issues, but the good news is this:

We've been blessed with good coaches, that we like and respect.  And even better...

I am really, really proud of my boys. 

We play soccer for the fun of it.  We have no delusions of grandeur.  We're not destined for the Olympics, the pros, or the elite leagues.  We play because it's fun.  It's exercise.  And it's a great opportunity to learn teamwork, and skills, and sportsmanship.  And because everyone ought to learn how to win and lose graciously.  And because I think that competitiveness is somehow genetically programmed into boys and that's not a bad thing if they can learn to compete honorably.

They've had some hard lessons this year, given that the rest of the world doesn't all play by the same code that we do.  And the boys have done well.  I think Wyatt's team only won one game.  Tate's took third in their division.  And Gunnar's team went undefeated.

And I'm really, really proud of all of them :D

Gunnar at the Soccer Field

Last week the weather was equally unpleasant for soccer.  I was lucky enough to get a parking place directly in front of Wyatt's field, and Gunnar asked if he could sit in the van.  Since I could see it plainly from the sidelines I agreed.  But he's only eight, and hadn't brought anything to do, and I felt guilty about him sitting there alone.

Near the end of the first half I saw him walking toward me.

Mom?  Would you walk down to the bathroom with me?  I tried to rest, but I've got that tinkly feeling.

Of course.

Gunnar, are you bored?  Would you rather come be with me?  I can bundle you up.

That's okay, Mom.  I can occupy myself with happy thoughts.

Soggy, Soggy, Soggy

I put some spring colors up on the blog because I decided
I was going to believe spring is finally here...

and then the weather turns around and bites me.

Yep.  Snow in the hills.

Again.

But it's Soccer Saturday, so I should expect that, yah?

Wyatt started off with a double-header, and had to be at the field at 8am.  Fun times. 

And let me tell you what it was like:  rainy, windy, and 42F.  That's about 5C, for some of you.

But it's just downright cold for all of us.

The first game looked a lot like this.

And by the end of their games they looked a lot like this.

Wet and muddy, from head to toe.

While we like to think of soccer as a family activity,

picnic at the field, cheer your brothers on...

not so much today.

Today was a divide and conquer day.

I took Wyatt to his games, and Kerry took Tate and Gunnar to their back-to-back games.

Which is great, because by the time all my soggy little men are back home,

I can have this ready.

In Which We are Very, Very Muddy

It is Soccer Saturday #2.  Kerry took Wyatt to his morning game (which was relatively dry) and I took Tate and Gunnar to their afternoon games, which meant being at the fields from 2 until after 5pm.

Congratulate me.

Tell me I'm a good mom.

Because it was cold.

And wet.

And I wore so many layers

I was almost afraid to attempt a potty break.

I probably made the Pillsbury dough boy

look like an anorexic,

because I know how cold it is at the soccer fields.

As we left the house it began to rain,

and by the time we were heading out of town the rain got...  

chunky.

 As in, partial snow.  And I had memories of this.

But it was more rain than snow.

And it began to come down so hard that it was difficult to see to drive.

We prayed.

The chunky rain continued to pour down.

Until we were - no kidding - about half a mile from the fields.

There was no question that the chunky rain had been there...

... but it was moving off to the east.

Driven away by a cold, cold wind.

Tate played first, and all was well because his team only had one sub so he was running almost non-stop for an hour.  And Gunnar was dry and bundled up in many layers.

But then Gunnar played his game and Tate was wet and muddy and cold

and had forgotten his dry boots.

Which reminded me of this.

And he doesn't believe me when I tell him that walking around, instead of just sitting,

will make him warmer.

Even when he's wearing my coat.

And we finally got home in a flurry of mud,

and Dad-with-a-hose-at-the-back-door,

and an empty laundry basket in the mud room

because I've seen you in your underwear

and you're not stepping foot into the house in those clothes,

and showers,

and heat,

and dry clothes,

and blessings for the inventor of the crock-pot,

and friends for dinner.

And only six more weeks of spring soccer.

But I'm not counting.

Wa-WAH! - Gunnar

Gunnar loves to play soccer... because it's fun and he's with his friends, but he doesn't have that competitive fire that drives his brothers.  Still, he's made great strides this year in diving right into the action and not being afraid to mix it up a bit with the other boys.

In fact, he's concentrating so hard that (look at his hands) in one game he gave himself a blister... on his thumb!  I think he was clenching his fists to make himself go faster!

He described the action here like this:

In this picture one of my teammates and I are tryin' to get a goal.  I have the ball.  Hayden, like we were trained, is going to run up to the goal so I can pass it to him.  But I don't remember if we scored that time or not.

Yes, usually his eyes are open!  It was sunny and very windy.

Staying warm on the sidelines.

That's a Wrap - Tate

After missing the first couple of games this season, due to his appendix, Tate made a fantastic come-back, and has been a joy to watch.  He is relentless; he never gives up.  And he's becoming much more aware of how the plays develop and is better able to position himself to intercept and disrupt his opponents.  He loves playing defense and "mid".

Refueling, with good old water!

One of Tate's coaches started calling him "The Pick-pocket".  He has a way of zooming in, out of nowhere, taking the ball away, and moving it upfield almost before his opponents know what has happened!

And win or lose, but especially win (!), Tate has a love for the game that oozes out his very pores.

It Is Finished - Wyatt

You may recall, from my recent "Soccer Updates" that we were closing in on the end of the season.

Yes, I love watching my boys play soccer.  I love what a good experience it is for them to develop skills, teamwork, and sportsmanship.  I love that they are usually pretty good about being gracious winners and gracious losers.  And I really, really love all the energy they burn off at the practices and the games.

But I also really, really, really love that we're done for awhile.  :0)

Having posted very few pictures through the season, let me give you a peek.

Wyatt's league (a combined U13 and U14) didn't have enough teams with enough players to play outdoor, so they had an indoor league.  (Less players on the field at a time.)  It's very difficult to get good pics in the sportsplex, because the lighting is so dim.  I think my sister did a great job, getting these!

The boys sprayed their hair with purple (and orange, for some reason) temporary hair color.

Wyatt, getting the ball out of the area near the goal.

I love that size really doesn't matter very much in soccer.  Even though Wyatt is one of the oldest kids in this league, he's still one of the smallest.  I love watching him swoop in and out from around the bigger, slower boys.

"Excuse me, while I take this ball from you."

Looking pretty happy and just a bit proud of himself.  :0)

Soccer Update

It's the night before the last day.

The boys are all tucked into bed and - presumably - sleeping, in anticipation of being out the door by 7:10am, on our way to the first soccer game of the last day.

It's cold.

It's pouring.

And it's really, really windy.

And if I think of anything else to whine about, you'll be the first to know.

Last. Soccer. Practice.

Yes.  The last soccer practice of the year.  (Yippee!)

Why am I celebrating?  I mean, I'm not the one that has to go run around for an hour and a half, when it's 42F and raining.

Exhibit A:  Wyatt, before practice.

Exhibit B:  Wyatt after practice.

From the front...

... and from the back.

He got the "Muddiest Boy at Practice" award -

a candy bar from the coach.

I'm living in a Tide commercial.

That will be all.

The Doctor, Soccer, and Tate-logic

Tate is feeling much better. I can tell.

The doctor, yesterday morning, said pretty much exactly what I expected. The incisions are all healing just fine and he is 'released' to do whatever he feels like doing.

Tate: Well, I'm sure I'll feel fine to play in my soccer game Saturday, but I don't think I should go to practice tonight. I'll just go to practice on Thursday and then the game Saturday.

Me: Nice try, buddy. But you haven't practiced with your team for two weeks. If you want to play on Saturday, you need to go to both practices.

Tate: (Silent. Pondering that.) I'm not sure I'll be able to do everything at practice.

Me: That's fine. Coach Mark knows. I'll go with you. Just do what you can. If you're tired or hurting, come rest.

Tate: (Sighing. Thinking, no doubt, about his brothers at home playing with pirate Legos.) All right, Mom.


So we get to soccer. Coach Mark is very attentive and concerned for Tate's well-being. I see the boys running some laps and Tate is keeping up just fine.

Then we realize that this practice is going to be a scrimmage against the other neighborhood team. You know, like the cross-town rivals having a football game. And these two teams played last Saturday and Tate's team lost, 5-1.

Suddenly, Tate was very motivated. He didn't have the bursts of speed to run down the faster players, but he does a good job of 'reading' the field and anticipating where the play might go. He was great :0) And every time he subbed out he'd grab his water and a minute later be waving at the coach, "I'm ready to go back in, Coach!"

Yeah. I think he's back.

And they won this scrimmage, 5-4.


And then, the icing on the cake.

I reminded Tate to ask his coach for a game jersey, since he was in the hospital when they were handed out. There was one left, in the coach's bag, and to Tate's surprise and joy, it was his favorite number - 9.

As we drove out of the parking lot, "Mom! It's a miracle! This is from God!"

Not sure about the "miracle" part, I said, "Well, Tate, God is watching even the little details that are special to you."

"Yeah, Mom. I guess it might not actually be a miracle, because a miracle would be more..." (searching for a word), "splendiferous."

Shiny purple hair

Happily celebrating the end of the soccer season...

To FM or not to FM... #7

It's another soccer Saturday - our LAST week of outdoor soccer until Spring... Hallelujah!

When Tate was younger we used his FM at every soccer game. Let's face it, he can't hear the coach calling in instructions, he often can't hear his teammates calling to each other, he certainly can't hear me cheering for him, and even the ref's whistle (blown softly, because there are so many fields so close together) may not hit his radar.

But as Tate has grown older he's more likely to prefer NOT to wear his FM for soccer. He will, sometimes. You can see it in the pics :0)


I watch him play, and he is constantly checking on the location of other players, always watching where the ball is in play, and usually aware of the referee. I think, just perhaps, he is tired of me distracting him. (I'm not micro-coaching... really!)

And he's had some funny FM experiences...


At one point, when he was still at public school, his teacher mentioned to me that he had been turning his FM off. She took it as defiance - as "I don't want to listen to you." And, to be fair, he has done that to me.... just glared at me and clicked his HA off. But when I asked Tate about it, he told me that he got tired of hearing her talk to other kids. I think she was forgetting to turn her end off when the class was working quietly and she was circulating.

She was also forgetting to turn it off at other times... she would drop the class off in the library and sometimes would forget to hand it off. Tate would be trying to listen to the librarian read a story, and his teacher would head to the bathroom, and then the teacher's lounge! "Mom, I hear her talking to other grown-ups!"

Oops.

Soccer Saturday... again

I haven't posted many pictures... haven't gotten organized enough to sort through the really great ones my dad and sister have taken. But here is a sample of Kerry's (point and shoot), until I get more motivated... or more free time, whichever comes first. *sigh*

Here is Wyatt, nicknamed "The Wrecking Ball" by his coach, because he can swing from one side of the field to the other and "destroy" the other team's "attacks" before they can build. That kid is FAST! He has probably just stolen the ball from the boy in orange and is outrunning him, to turn the ball and send it back upfield. Wyatt usually plays defense. He takes it very personally if anyone gets by him, and is highly motivated to keep the ball out of the goal... sometimes even away from the goalie.



What Tate lacks in speed, he makes up in momentum. And actually, he has picked up a LOT of speed and stamina in the last year. He said to me, "Mom, before, when a player got by me with the ball, I used to just stop running and hope that the goalie, or someone else would stop him. But now I keep chasing him and get the ball away from him." No kidding! Tate likes to play defense or "mid" - which allows him to range over almost the entire field. Though his speed and agility have improved, he still plays a pretty physical game. Tate is a force to be reckoned with!








Gunnar has probably shown the most improvement this season, of my three boys. Of course, he has the farthest to go... We have been thrilled to see him actually going for the ball, even when an opponent has control of it (!), and following the play, rather than just kicking it and letting it go. He has been much more confident this year about getting right into the fray. Like his brothers, he is a dedicated defensive player. Although they don't really have goalies at this level (BU7), he likes to play defense, and does pretty well at it! Still, Gunnar primarily likes to play just because he likes to play... with his friends. You'll often see him cheering for his teammates and running up for a high five, or even a hug, after a good play. :0)

Soccer Saturday

As usual, for our family at this time of year, all the boys played soccer on Saturday. Of course, sign ups are in balmy, lovely, sunny July. The boys are excited, we look forward to cheering our kids on, chatting with the other parents, and picnicking between games, out at the soccer fields.

We must be delusional.

Because what we most often get is rain. Or wind. Or both. We huddle under umbrellas when it's not too windy to use them, proudly wear our "team color" underneath our raincoats, and try to dry out our soggy feet in the car, while we eat lukewarm macaroni and cheese from a thermos between games.

Let me just clarify that these pictures were NOT taken yesterday. Bringing a camera was the last thing on my mind yesterday.

I thought I would be smart and just send Kerry with Wyatt because he had an early game. For whatever reason, it always seems to be 10 degrees colder at the soccer field than it is at my house.

But the weather was just fine! Okay, cloudy, but no wind or rain. Wyatt's team lost, which is frustrating for reasons I won't go into, but we're focusing on being gracious winners and gracious losers, so it's a good training opportunity and he seemed to handle it well.

Gunnar and Tate's games were much later, and back to back. And the wind was rising. Gunnar's team actually plays four mini-games rather than one hour-long game. The "home" team gets to stay put, but the "away" team has to rotate from field to field. We were the "away" team. The funny thing is that the "home" teams get to choose which end of the field they want to play, and not one of the four teams we played had figured out that kicking INTO the wind is a disadvantage. Oh well, whoever said 7-year-olds were big on strategy? We'll take whatever help we can get!

Gunnar did really well - played where he was supposed to play, paid attention to where the ball was, kicked it more than once at a time (!), and even had "breakaway" and would've scored... if yet another teammate hadn't enthusiastically "helped" him. *sigh* But he didn't complain :0) Nobody officially keeps score at this level, but I'm pretty sure they won 3 and either tied or won the 4th. I was a little distracted.

We went right from Gunnar's game over to Tate's field. They were playing a team that beat them two weeks ago. (Tate's team had a double-header, and played this team second.)

The wind came up, the rain came down, and it was - dare I say it - MISERY! But I think Tate's team, the "Jaguars", may actually play their finest under rotten conditions. It was raining so hard, and blowing so hard, it actually felt like hail. It was hard to look into the wind. Tate never even subbed out. I'm sure he was tired, but all that running kept him warm. I've never seen him play better, and told him so :0)

They managed to finish their game, in spite of two dads having to hold down the goal the other team was defending, after it blew over twice (!), and won :0) Again, winning isn't everything, but it was fun to beat a team we had lost to, and even more fun to see the boys really playing a fine game.


Kerry managed to get a parking space right next to the field. When the rain began, we bundled Wyatt and Gunnar into the 4Runner.

By the second half of the game, Kerry joined them.


Therefore, I am presenting myself, and all the other soccer moms (including the one who wore FLIP FLOPS - you know who you are) this prestigious award:

Fall Soccer

The First Soccer Pic of the fall season...

are these guys handsome or what?!

Soggy

Yes, that's how I feel, SOGGY. What with all the rain we had in August I was hoping for crisp clear fall days.

Not so much. What we have is 54F and rain, rain, and more rain.

I am VERY proud of the grasshoppers...

We had FOUR soccer games today, from 9:15 to 3:30, and I have three very soggy boys. No, there are no pictures, because the folding chair, water-bottles, snacks, rain-coats, car-keys and umbrella were all I could manage!

Wyatt's team played the #1 team in their league (I think they are ranked 5th) and tied. More importantly, they played really WELL. Of course, the skill level has gotten pretty high at this age, but it's a new deal this year with three teams coming together to form this team, so the boys are really re-learning some of the teamwork :0)

Gunnar's team, still the little guys, played four 15 minute games. Of course, we don't officially keep score, but... they might have tied one, and I'm pretty sure they won 3. Gunnar has made a LOT of progress since last year - he actually goes after the ball! Woo-hoo! He still likes to play defense, but he played forward some too.

Tate's team had two games today, and what a day for it. UGH! I was surprised that with a double-header they were scheduled to play two of the stronger teams in the league. They tied the first and lost the second, 3-4, but truly outplayed the other team, who got a couple of lucky goals. Again, winning isn't what it's all about... it's good to see the team 'gelling' (sp?!) Tate played almost the entire two hours in pouring rain and never complained once.

Oh my goodness it is good to be back to my warm, dry house, and warm, dry clothes, and a delicious smell in the air. Can I just say that I love my crockpot?!