We decided the girls would give soccer a try this year. They enjoyed watching it on tv, Ryan used to play it, we wanted them to try a team sport, it's great exercise, and we thought they would really like it. They both play with the Smyrna Soccer Club. Lily's U6 team is called the Galaxy while Mia's U4 team is the Sharks.
They each had their first game last Saturday. Here they are, ready to go!
Mia checking everything out before the game started.
Warming up. She seemed very excited and ready to play.
Mia loved practicing and warming up. However, as soon as they said "let's play," she completely froze up. She refused to walk onto the field. Ryan and I were baffled. Mia is normally a very outgoing little girl who loves to run, jump and play. We couldn't believe it. However, she wasn't the only one. Apparently, this is a very intimidating situation for the 3 and 4 year old set. Several players on both teams refused to play or were crying. As soon as the coach said the game was over, she perked up and was excited to get her snack. At practice this week, she had a blast, but come game day again on Saturday, she froze. This time she stayed on the field, but she stuck her fingers in her mouth and refused to move. I'll be honest, it was really frustrating for us to watch! This simply isn't Mia, and we don't get it. She says she loves to practice (and that's evident to watch) but she doesn't like a game; she can't explain why though. We'll keep trying. Maybe sometime in the next 8 weeks, she'll give it a try during game time!
After Mia's game, we ate a little snack and then it was Lily's turn. Here she is warming up.
The coach with some of the players before the game.
Lily and the herd (she's the second gold jersey from the left) running after the ball. Lily seems to really enjoy playing soccer though after 30 minutes of running and up down (with water breaks of course), she is exhausted! She does great during practice; she has great control of the ball and kicks really well. She's not very aggressive during the games though, so she doesn't get to kick it a lot then. She really seems to like it though, so we're giving her lots of encouragement throughout the game and practice. It's really pretty fun to watch!
Just before Lily's game the first week, it started to rain a little bit. They decided to keep playing which was fine. Towards the end though, the sky opened up and it POURED down rain. I can't remember ever being that wet! The girls and I stood in the rain while Ryan went to get the car for us. There was nothing to do but laugh at this point. At one point Lily said "I guess we don't have to go back to White Water now!" We got in the car and the girls literally poured water out of their cleats; it was crazy. Hopefully that won't happen again, but we'll see what the rest of the season holds!
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