It's never too early...

...to let kids learn to love the game (World Cup 2010).

Soccer Mementos

Ryan put together the best prize for his soccer girls--instead of a trophy or a medal, he made each of them player trading cards. Half of them had their serious photo and the other half had their action shot photo and he had them each say what they loved most about soccer. On the back he put the team photo... they turned out great!

I think the girls will be so excited to have a professional trading card of themselves that is so personalized.

**Have you ever had a trading card with your own photo on it?
(I didn't think so.)

Spring Soccer 2009

Coleman and Olivia both had a great spring soccer season.

Coleman's team named themselves the "Green Snakes" and even got a visit from the team mascot (one of the coaches has a pet snake).

Coleman's skills noticeably improved this spring... he dribbled better and had much better control of the ball....

...and he scored several times throughout the season. It seemed that the Snakes were either way better than the other team, or they couldn't hold their own. There wasn't a lot of middle ground, so they got a good taste of both winning and losing.

You could often see Coleman in this pose... his coaches told them, "If you are close enough to touch your teammates, you are too close" so he made it a point to do the airplane maneuver to check his distance.

When Coleman was assigned to a team outside of our immediate neighborhood I was a little disappointed, but it turned out to be a great blessing. His coaches were wonderful and he became fast friends with the other players-- and we hope to be on the same team next year. Go Green Snakes!

Olivia's all-girls team named themselves the "Purple People Eaters" (despite brilliant suggestions from Ryan and I to be the "Shrieking Violets" or the "Violet Vixens").

Their picture day got rained out, so Ryan took it upon himself to be the team photographer. He had each of the girls pose for individual photos...

...he set up a team photo (I clicked the button)...

...and he got great action shots of each of the girls.

My photography skills pale in comparison, but that's beside the point. Olivia really improved her playing this season too. She loves soccer and is looking forward to Soccer Fridays this summer and another exciting season in the fall with most of the same teammates and the same coaching staff.

Ryan loves coaching and Olivia loved having him be so much a part of her soccer life. (During games the clipboard was like another appendage.)

To be truthful, I'm mostly relieved that we have our Tuesday nights and Saturdays back, but there is a small part of me that will miss washing uniforms and keeping track of cleats and socks and soccer balls and schlepping around chairs and water bottles and team treats and cheering for the Snakes or the Purple People Eaters.

Luckily it will all start again in a few short months...

Futbol and Friends

Last Saturday we went to the free Exhibition game for Real Salt Lake Soccer. We dragged a few soccer friends along with us and had a marvelous time!

Soccer Season

Soccer season is upon us again and this fall Coleman gets to play! This age group (5) is so fun to watch... the kids are just starting to figure out how to kick the ball and which way to go. They don't have a goalie or keep score, they really just want the kids to get used to playing the game and have fun. Coleman got a great pass from his teammate Jeff and he made the first goal of the game--he ran down the field shouting, "Yes! That was SO awesome. Yes!" It was so exciting to watch the joy in his little body. I wish I had caught it on video!

You can tell that Ryan wasn't there with his camera--he is coaching Olivia's team this year and they only made it for the last few minutes of the game--so we don't have any great action shots.
Maybe in another lifetime I'll take better photos.

**Do you love soccer season?
**Could Coleman have a cuter personality and smile?