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...