Monday, August 26, also started the older two boys' soccer season. Since Caleb is officially five, he can play on the U6 team while Joshua moved up to the U8 team. Caleb was SO excited to be going to soccer practice!
Oddly enough, Caleb is on the black team this year like Joshua was last year (and there are SO many different colors of teams, including yellow, light blue, navy blue, maroon, green, red, silver, black, orange, and so forth). Joshua is on the green team this year, which happens to be his favorite color.
Joshua's coach is actual a Classics player from Hempfield High School. I found out later that he was just accepted at Stanford on a soccer scholarship, so he is extremely impressive. Joshua's coach from last year, his friend Luke's mom, is the communication coordinator for the team. She asked everyone on the team to wear a green shirt the first day. I had just gotten this green soccer t-shirt at Gymboree off the clearance rack, which worked out great!
It was fantastic that Joshua's team wore green because there were all sorts of teams practicing that afternoon, and his was the only one we could easily find. I kept asking around for Caleb's coach/team and FINALLY found them on one of the fields, later than I would have liked to even though we were there early.
Here's where I must stop and praise God for the boys' soccer schedule. Joshua's coach emailed first and said practices would be Mondays. I work Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so I was sincerely hoping that practice would be Mondays, Thursdays or Fridays. Without any input at all, his practice was Monday! Yahoo! Then Caleb's coach, a willing parent who stepped up to volunteer at the last minute when no one else had, asked if we could possibly meet on Monday the first week because he was traveling the rest of the week. Then he asked what day would typically work. I responded Mondays were great because of my other son's practice; and, praise God, so did a lot of other parents. They had daughters or sons on different teams practicing Monday night as well, so it worked out for the entire team to practice Monday night. Now, there are lots of teams meeting all throughout the week, so the odds of both kids practicing the same night was not good. But, it ended being good; it ended up being GOD! I am SO thankful the kids get to practice at the same time. Their fields aren't right next to each other, but at least it's only an hour or so for Ryan to have to sit through verses going several nights (especially with my work schedule). WOOHOO!!!
Joshua's team this year is pretty good. You can tell that they are older. He's definitely not the best kid on the team by far, but he has fun and that's what matters.
Caleb has a hard time focusing. He spins and twirls and gets lost in the surroundings. He says he's having a blast, but I'm not sure he even got the entire concept of an actual game yet. He loves the little drills and games that they play (like cat and mouse and red-light-green-light, etc) and enjoys being part of a "real" team.
Caleb's also not the best kid on his team (an understatement) but I realize that it's part of being a kid this age to not be able to concentrate for long when there's a lot going on to see. His coach always gives out lollipops at the end of practice and games, and Caleb thinks that's GREAT! His coach seems very nice and he is also sweet to invite the siblings of the kids to play in the last game of tag at the end of practice because he realizes how many kids are there just bored and waiting to pick up their older or younger sibling.
A friend of mine has a son who is good enough to play for the older-yet Classics team. She informed me that kids eventually have to try out and actually make it onto the team to get to play. She said it's more expensive than a car payment to be part of it, and they play and travel year-round with practice several nights out of the week. But she said her son is really good and he really loves it, so they continue on. She also said that most kids who participate in Classics get soccer scholarships for college if they choose to go.
I love my boys dearly and always think the best of them. That said, so far I would be SHOCKED if soccer was their sport. I want them to try all sports that they are interested in and be able to play for fun. I think it's good to learn sportsmanship and the rules of the game and to stay generally athletic and competitive, etc. There's good things to be learned from being on a team and learning self-discipline and goal setting, etc. All that said, if they would actually have to try out to make a team, I don't think either one would qualify even for their own current teams. But, I'm so glad that they are truly enjoying it. We are grateful for this free program that introduces them to the sport of soccer.
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