Sand Soccer 2016

Wyatt's soccer team decided to enter the sand soccer tournament this summer.  I don't know if it was the fact that we started talking about it during the indoor soccer season (covered here), while we were stuck inside or what that got us excited to do it, but by the time we actually GOT to sand soccer weekend, the beach was the very last place I wanted to be!  Ha!

His first game was at the same time as Finley's dance recital, but we were able to leave him with our friends while we went to see her dance.  We both made it to his second game (after paying a ridiculous amount of money to park!), and they ended their first day with 2 wins!

By the time he was done playing two games, he was not excited to walk 6 blocks back to the parking lot!

We had to buy him this shirt.  If you've ever seen Wyatt play defense, you know that this shirt sums up his soccer philosophy.

All of the kids spent that Saturday night at my parents' house, and the next morning I shuffled them from their house to Brian's parents house.  He had another long day of soccer, and there was no way that the other kids were going to be able to deal with all the walking and the hours that they would have to spend at the beach on what was the hottest weekend of the year.  

They managed to win their first game that day and secure their bid to the championship game.

The championship game was a nail biter.  There were a lot of things that all collided to make it stressful.  The first thing was that it was the championship game.  The second was that it was this team's last game together.  His coaches are moving on, and soccer is also changing their travel rules in the fall.  They are going from a May-May calendar for birthdays to a birth year calendar, and we would have had to either move Wyatt and some of the other boys up to play U11 with the older boys, or stick with the younger boys to play U10.  Ultimately, splitting the team up with the best option, and 5 of the boys are staying together.

We also ended up playing the exact same team that we beat in a Veteran's Day tournament earlier this year.  We didn't go in overconfident because that had been a close game.  We managed to grab a lead after Wyatt scored a goal from midfield while he was playing defense. But he had some tough competition in a kid from the other team. He met his match in terms of aggression, and the kid on the other team got a yellow card.  But so did Wyatt.  His first yellow card ever.  And yes, first.  Because I don't think this will be the last time my kid gets a yellow card.   Also, the ref was awful and couldn't keep score.

Ultimately the ended up losing in over time when the other team got a PK for a handball.  They were crushed, but they still managed to pull off fake smiles for the awards ceremony.

Overall it was a fun weekend.  I'm not sure we're going to rush to play again next year (especially after $75 in parking all weekend after we paid $60 to play!), but Wyatt had a blast!

Travel Soccer

Brian and I officially lost our minds and let Wyatt try out for a travel soccer team in June.  I was hesitant, but all of his soccer buddies were moving on, and he would be left without his "core group" if he played rec.  After talking it over with Wyatt, talking it over with Brian, and talking it over with his coach, we decided to let him play with his friends.  

We have heard a lot of nightmare stories about coaches who force their players to specialize at an early age, and fortunately, we have NOT come across that yet (and that's between both travel baseball and travel soccer). His soccer coach and his old baseball coach especially encouraged Wyatt to just be athletic, and his soccer coach is super understanding when he does have to miss something. Even though this mom is not a fan of super busy schedules, I know that Wyatt is happy playing soccer and baseball for now, so we'll ride it out as long as we can!

He had his first (and so far only) tournament about a month ago.  We've had to deal with a lot of rain recently!  They had a tough loss in their first game.  BUT! Wyatt and the boys that he has played with for a few years totally needed that loss.  They hadn't lost a soccer game in two years! Their egos may have been over inflated.

They were able to finish the first half of  their second game before the rain came.

Wyatt spent most of his time on Defense.  I think his coach knows that Wyatt hates to lose, and tries to channel that passion towards stopping the other team!

But even while he was playing Defense he managed to assist the only goal of the game!

And in case anyone wonders what my other kids do while we're at all of these activities...Hudson gets himself trapped in the net.  Typical weekend.  Ha!

Spring Sports Wrap-Up

Just a few "follow up pictures" to the rest of our spring sports recaps.  I'm pretty sure that baseball will probably go on forever, but rec season is done!

Hudson finished his spring soccer season - he had a lot of fun!

He played in a U6 League - which means that most of the kids were 6 years old!  He even played against a few kids in Reese's Kindergarten class - two years older than he is.

It was hard for his little legs to move as fast as the bigger kids, but he still hung in there.  He really likes playing soccer, and he begged to do it again!

Wyatt played U8, although we tried to move him up to U10.  He had some moments of frustration playing defense all season, but he was still happy that he was able to play.  Plus, he was able to help move the ball down the field to prevent the other teams from scoring. He has tryouts for a select team on Tuesday!

Reese and Hudson both had fun playing t-ball - as always!

Reesie and her BFF Emma!

It's nice to be down two games a week now.  Wyatt is still playing for his Select team and he also made All Stars, so he has at least another month of tournaments and practices and conditioning and pitching!  It sounds like a lot - but he always wants to play.  And the kid has massive amounts of energy to burn!

Soccer Season So Far

Our Spring Season is a hectic.  Everyone is playing baseball or tee ball, and both boys are also playing soccer.

Yes.  We have lost our minds.

It's actually a pretty carefully crafted schedule that we had to put a lot of thought into organizing.  Fortunately both soccer teams are practicing the same night, and we have carpools set up just in case!  The biggest issue is the Saturday shuffle - the little boys play, then the big boys, then Brian takes everyone to t-ball while I stay at soccer and wait for Wyatt.  Then we head to the fields to catch most of the t-ball game before his baseball game.  Then we all come home and pass out.

Hudson gets to play soccer and baseball with his good buddy Jesse.

Even when that means chucking oranges into the grass behind the bench and having to go retrieve them.

 He's working on his sweet soccer moves.

 While the little boys play, Wyatt and Jack hold court at a nearby field.

 Wyatt's team added a few players this spring, and he's been playing a lot of defense.  I get anxious just watching him play goalie!

 He seems to enjoy playing defense, but I know that he and Jack really want to get in there and score goals.

I had to take the big boys home with me quickly between games last week.  The other team's parents were shouting "Get the ball past them!,"and "Be aggressive!" at their kids every time Wyatt and Jack went to block them (and succeeded).  I asked them how that made them feel, and Wyatt said, "They probably think that yelling at their kids motivates them, but it really motivates us."  And Jack followed that up with, "Yeah, that just gives us strength to kick the ball back down the field and score."   Next week I expect them to tell me that they're "letting their haters be their motivators."  Ha!