The Spring soccer season has started. This is technically Ian's third session of being signed up for soccer, but it is still hit or miss whether he really likes it and wants to do it. The first season he played was in the Spring of 2009. Ian barely made it through the first practice and walked off throwing a fit that he didn't want to play anymore. He refused to wear the soccer socks and shin guards. I tried hard to teach the lesson that we don't quit and even if he didn't want to participate, we would still have to show up. That lasted one more Saturday and then we were done. I was pretty certain that the sport wouldn't see Ian ever again, but lo & behold, by the time Fall 2009 started, Ian said he wanted to play. I thought it was a good idea to try a new league and registered him with Burke Athletic Club. I got special permission to hold him back to the U4 division and try the beginner, introductory level again. We made a small amount of progress this time around and Ian was willing to show up for the practices. Whether he wanted to do all the drills and exercises being led by the coach was a whole another story, but at least there was a willingness on his part to try.Fast forward to Spring of 2010, and my mommy friends and I figured we may as well get the boys in their age appropriate division (U5) and see if they are up to the new requirements -- a practice session every Thursday and a game every Saturday. Plus, you HAVE TO wear shin guards, soccer socks and cleats. This is the big-time!
We just had our first practice and our first game. It was incredibly exciting and you could tell by the video camera and digital camera, that we were most definitely first-time parents with a child playing his first ever organized sport. They don't keep score at this level and at first the players (on both teams) weren't sure which direction to kick the ball to make a goal. It was all wonderful just the same!
Ian was ready to play from the moment he stepped on to the field at that first soccer practice. Everyone was sitting on the ground in a circle and the coach was introducing himself. He asked the kids if anyone has ever played soccer before. Almost all of the kids raised their hands. But Ian took it a step further and he exclaimed the following "I've played before. My name is Ian Samuel Toppall and I am a professional! Let me show you how fast I can run." At this point Ian started running around the circle of the coach and kids over and over again. Oh my!
Ian had a blast and his enthusiasm for the sport has skyrocketed to new levels. He was focused, high-energy, passed the ball to his teammate, and incredibly fast. And, while there was no official score keeping, Ian kept count on his own. He declared his team won 10 to 8. Let me put this in the context that it was 2 vs 2 and there were 6 fields playing. In the picture on the left, Ian is the one in blue. He just got done kicking the ball and now the boys are all trying to run and keep up with the ball. Go Ian!
I think I've now officially become a soccer mom. :)
