Soccer

The boys' soccer season has ended. It has been a really short season, but still enjoyable.
Because of the bad weather, the boys' first 3-4 games were canceled. This was William's first season so he was really disappointed that he wasn't able to play for the first several games. Then we missed 3 games while we were in Costa Rica and Utah for the Ironman.
Because of the bad weather, the organizer's finally decided have a game at a local indoor arena. The boys were so excited about this since it was similar to where I usually play at. This is where William got to play his first game, ever. I was a little unsure about letting him play since he was still recovering from his accident the week before. I decided to let him decide if he wanted to play or not. He was totally excited to play, so he went in.
Whenever my boys first started playing soccer, it took them at least the first season for them to even be okay with playing. Instead of playing, they would run around, or look at dandelions, or even cry, begging to not have to go play soccer. William was a totally different experience. Not only did he not cry, but he went into the game running. He was tough, he was aggressive. There were a couple of times he fell and I got concerned about his shoulder, but he handled it very well. He scored a couple of goals, coming right out to the sideline after scoring, getting a drink and a rest.
Roger has played very well this year. Sometimes he didn't want to play for he loves people so much that he has a hard time with being competitive with others. I finally figured out that if I stressed that his team needed him, he would go in fighting. He had fun playing, but I do think that he found the most joy in playing with his uniform.
Mikey also had a great season....depending on his focus. When Mikey spaces out, he didn't play as well. He wasn't terrible, but he wasn't good either. He would run down the field twirling his arm, just running around with people. At times this was frustrating to watch, but when I realized that he was talking to the other kids out there and was interacting with them, I didn't care how focused or unfocused on the game he was. Having said that, when Mikey is focused, he is incredible. He is a great player, positioning himself, getting the ball, and scoring many goals.
The boys' last game happened to be the same day that I did the Mohican 50, so I missed it. Todd had missed all but one game, so I figured it would be okay that I missed one of their games while Todd took the four boys. Needless to say, Todd has a new found respect for me, not because I ran 50 miles, but because I have taken the boys to so many games by myself.