Spring Sports 2013

Spring has sprung and we are full swing into soccer and softball!  We have soccer in the fall and spring so I'm going to keep the story short (not much to tell anyway, we played soccer!) and post a few pictures to remind us of all the fun we had!

This was Jace's first year playing soccer and he loved it!  He had a bit of a hard time keeping up with the older kids (he was playing on Brooklyn's team) and got worried when the masses headed his way, but overall it was a success.

  

Brooklyn was all over the place and got down to business once the whistle blew.  She has no qualms about getting in the middle of all the action (Jace usually ran the other way if the ball came near, you know, because with the ball came lots of wild kids!  I don't think I blame him).

  

I think Jace actually kicked the ball once or twice. And that was for the season.  He was upset after games because no one let him get that ball.  It's tough playing with the big kids.  And when you're running the wrong way.

Abby was in an older division where they learned more about the rules and techniques of the game.  And they played on a bigger field so there wasn't as much action.  Abby feels like the boys try to dominate the game and doesn't appreciate the fact that she is open lots of times without ever getting the ball!

Jace tried his hand at goalie.  It wasn't as exciting as he thought it would be.  In fact, I'm pretty sure the concept went right over his head.  But I think he found a cute bug to keep him occupied while the ball was at the other end of the field.  And if I remember right, once the ball came back to his end of the field it really made no difference.

This is what Colby did to stay busy.  Kicked around whatever soccer ball he could get his hands on.  It was a trick to keep him off the field and out of the way.  This kid just loves anything to do with balls and playing games and wanted in on the action.

And after it was all over, we all got medals.  For partcipation.  Once again.  The kids loved it.  I rolled my eyes.

I mean, how can you really learn to be  champion when everyone is hailed a champion?

Oh well.  When the kids are happy, mom's happy.  And they look pretty happy to me.

And then we headed straight into softball.  It was Brooklyn's first year out of t-ball and the only reason we moved her up was because Darren was coaching Abby's team.  I was pretty nervous about it because they do Coaches Pitch and I wasn't sure Brooklyn was ready for it (at all), but we practiced with the wiffle balls out in the back yard with her and she did great!  In fact, she was one of our most reliable hitters!

Darren's job as coach.  It's not a great thing when the coach strikes out all of his players.... luckily that didn't happen to our team (too often anyway!).

This field wasn't the field we played most of our games on but we did play a few.  It is an unfinished field that  will someday be for softball but that's why the dugouts look the way they do.  It was actually a bit of a safety hazard with nothing for the girls to stand behind while they their team was batting but we didn't have injuries from it.

Look how cute she looks!  This is Brooklyn and she was bound and determined to hit every ball.  You could tell from the expressions on her face that she was giving it everything she had!  At the beginning of the season she about gave me a heart attack by waiting until the last pitch to hit the ball. 

 Every. Single. Time.

And if you know Brooklyn you know that she was nervous.  (This girl gets nervous about attending bday parties - I mean, she gets herself worked up). So I was very happy when she stopped that trend and began hitting the ball after the first few pitches.  We all breathed easier.  I think Brooklyn only struck out one time all season! Yay!

And our team made it to championship game!  And then we lost.  And I got a glimpse of my future with my little athletes.  I'm that mom.  The one who goes to games and instead of cheering for the little girls on the other team starts badmouthing the unpaid officials for not getting the really close call right.  And gets so involved in the game that at the end of a loss they can't handle it!  I was upset.  And I wanted  a rematch. 

 It was kind of nice to know that my competitive edge lives on.