Soccer Season 2015

We just wrapped up the boy's soccer season for the year.  This was Cooper's third year playing and Miles' first.  They were both excited, but especially Miles...  and the morning of his first practice it was 24º for an 8:30am practice!  Brrrrr....

All bundled up, he didn't seem to mind much. Especially when they handed out the jerseys and was randomly given #7.  He'd told me a few days earlier that he hoped he got #7!!! 

It had warmed up to a whopping 32º by the time Cooper's 10:30am practice started.

Having two kiddos playing meant twice as much time at the soccer complex.  Plus, there was sometimes a gap between practice/game times.  Miles learned Daddy's lap was the warmest place to watch from.

After a few practices, his first game day arrived and Miles was excited!

Maybe it was the excitement, but Miles showed a lot of potential in his fist game.  He took the ball down and scored in the first ten seconds of the game!  ...that must have satisfied him though, he didn't show as much ambition in following games.  Ha.

Four year old soccer games are mostly just humorous.  And may also be known as "huddle ball". 

The kids all go after the ball and spend the whole game in a cluster kicking at it.

Once in a while, someone will kick it free (this time Miles) and then everyone goes after it again.

Then keep kicking at the ball, usually kicking each other's shin guards more than the ball.

Getting to do the throw in is always a highlight.

Once in a while Miles would get some good kicks at the ball...

But most of the time he was too worried about bugs.

One of his favorite parts of his soccer season was when he got to hand out snacks.

Cooper's age level is a little more competitive, although neither of their teams keep score yet. 

They work a little more on field position and passing the ball to open teammates.

Cooper likes to play goalie.  I cringe every time he does though...  because he has a hard time paying attention.

He had a couple good stops, but gets distracted very easily!

And for some reason though he needed to hook the goalie shirt up over his ears when he was bored.

 He listened to his coaches well, thankfully, and improved a lot over the season.

And even ended up scoring a goal in two different games!

The weather was very fickle all season.  Some days it was freezing cold.

Then the next practice would be hot.

Then next time it would be cold enough Miles and I wanted to hang in the car during Cooper's practice.   (We often packed dinner to eat there since Miles had 5:30pm and Cooper had 6:30 practices on Mondays.)

Overall, it was a great experience for everyone.  We're thankful for the coaches who volunteered their time and did such a good job with the kids.  Coaching four year olds is similar to herding cats...

Cute cats, but still.

 The boys enjoyed playing soccer and making friends.

 And learning new skills and good sportsmanship.

 Miles ended his season the same way he started it, with a goal!  He scored in the first ten seconds... and the last ten seconds!  Can you tell he was happy about it?

Here's the secret: Daddy had bribed him.  :)

To try and get him to be more aggressive, Derek offered Miles $2 if he scored a goal.  To which Miles said, "How about a Bass Pro gift card?".  Ha ha ha ha.  Daddy agreed and was pretty surprised when Miles scored a couple games later, with only seconds to spare!  

Cooper ended his season passing out the snacks, which is a fun thing.

Two boys, two goals, one complete soccer season, lots of fun!  We're proud of them.