Soccer

We decided to sign Elliott up for soccer this year because he ALWAYS wants us to kick a ball with him, or throw him a baseball or a frisbee. He also has a lot of energy and always wants us to watch him do his tricks. So we thought what could be better than him playing soccer while we watch and make it a family event?

So he had his first soccer game yesterday. It was so funny to watch! All these little boys (and a few girls) were chasing the ball around the field in a big glob. We had the first practice during the week and Elliott was really excited. On Friday night when I was getting him in bed I told him to get some rest so he could play well in his soccer game in the morning. He said, "Oh mommy- I don't want to play soccer anymore. There are big boys that will knock me over." I told him they were all his same size and age, and they wouldn't knock him down. But he seemed pretty nervous.

In the morning, I let him lounge and watch cartoons and we played at the park, but he still kept telling me he didn't want to play. He didn't want to get his soccer shorts, shin guards and soccer socks on- until we got one side on and I told him he looked like a transformer. He loves transformers and that's his team name, so he felt really cool walking around like a robot after that.

When we got to the field, the coach had the boys in a line kicking the ball into the net, so Elliott joined in. Then the game started and Elliott was a little clueless, but he did great! All he knows about soccer is to "get it in the net" so he went for the wrong goal a few times, and maybe kicked it away from his own teammates, and zoned out looking anywhere but the game he was in, but he is getting the hang of it. It wasn't until after the game that I thought how funny it was that I just put him in a field and said, "Go play soccer!" and he had no idea what he was doing! I guess you have to learn somehow!

That's Elliott on the left with his hoodie on. Don't let the sunny weather fool you- it was freezing and windy!


The "Transformers" in their huddle. Elliott is one of the youngest (and smallest) on the team, and one of the few that hasn't played on a team before, so I was really proud of him for being so brave.


Although you can't tell from this picture, he was so happy after the game. He felt really special getting a capri sun, granola bar and oranges that a teammate's mom brought. He didn't want to take his soccer clothes off when he came home.


Ollie watched for the first five minutes and then found this little patch of dirt to keep him busy. Huge fields of grass and he finds the dirt- of course!