It's Soccerday!

Yes, today is Soccerday. Or was Soccerday. It's over and it was a looooooong day for some of us. CED, MAD, CEDs teammate M, and I were all up at the crack of dawn this morning to leave for a soccer game west of Vail. We carpooled with another mom and her daughter, the team's goalkeeper, and headed out at 6:25 this morning. It was a beautiful drive (we took the 'back' way through the mountains) and we arrived at the soccer park right on time at 9:30. Are you doing the math? We drove 3 hours one way for a one hour soccer game. Yes. We're that dedicated. The girls were down a player today and we ended up fielding only 10 players (instead of 11) against a team of 12 players. The girls played fantastically. They scored their first goal in the first five minutes and we were excited! The other team was able to even it up fairly quickly though (the first goal we've allowed this Spring season) and the competition was on. CEDs team has really begun to gel, however, and they put on the pressure by passing well and working together as a complete unit. It's just amazing to see how well they've all come together. The girls ended up winning the game 5-2 and remain undefeated. Parents from the other team were telling us at the end that we have a great team and they were grateful that we didn't have a full team. Pretty nice praise, I think!
While we were freezing in Vail (it was 40 at 9:30 and the temperature went steadily down from there while the wind picked up), K took JAD, JED, and MED first to JADs warm soccer game in Castle Rock and then JEDs game back down in the Springs. JADs team played against the team in first place, which we all knew would be an intense game. K said that JAD played very well, and even earned praise from his coach, but, in the end, they lost 0-3. I'm questioning some players' positions (the coach moved some players to new positions today - why, I don't know), but the other team is a very strong team and the movement just didn't work in our favor. Hopefully these boys bounce back and play like we know they can in the coming games.
After this game, K had to take JED to his soccer game. JED played well and scored two goals for his team. Apparently, another player on the opposing team also 'irritated' JED and he pushed the kid and tripped him at the same time. Can you say 'I play with my older brother who cuts me no slack so I push and trip to get what I want?' It just cracks me up that my 8 year old plays like a 12 year old against boys who are just learning the game. A side effect of having older siblings.
K and I are now exhausted. I hope your Soccerday/Saturday was fulfilling for you!