It's Never Really Over

The fall soccer season is slowly winding to a close.  We have make up games that have yet to be scheduled, but most of the kids have their last games of the season next weekend.  I'm not sure when the make up games will be, but considering I get to reschedule those, hopefully they'll be really soon or they'll just have to wait til the spring season.  Except for JED - I have to get his done in the next week or so.  Yikes!  Anyway... soccer pictures have been taken for the two little girls' teams and, although I'm too cheap to buy the professionally done pictures, I did snap a couple with my phone.  Classy, eh?

Here is MED with her team and coach.  We really enjoyed watching her play this fall.  She went from being this sweet little girl to a fierce competitor on the field.  In her second game on Saturday, she scored four goals!

MAD with her team.  She was part of the Itty Bitty Soccer Academy and she had a ball while doing it.  This past weekend she scored three goals!

MAD with Flavio - the club director and her favorite person at soccer.

Now we begin the segue and overlap from outdoor soccer to indoor...

A Severe Strain

I would like to report that my children are a severe strain on my sanity and, while that may be true many many times of the week, that's not what I'm referring to. My oldest child, JAD took a hard kick to his right knee (of course, his dominant kicking leg - remember, soccer) at practice about two weeks ago. Since then, he has been limping around moaning about the pain and how much his knee hurts. Does this mean that he's stopped playing soccer? Of course not! I'm a stupid mother for even uttering those words. No and soccer are two words that should never be uttered sequentially in my house around the ears of my 14 year old. So, K and I decided that we should finally get him in to the doctor after watching him barely be able to walk by this past Saturday morning.

I was able to get him in to an orthopedic doctor this afternoon and, after four x-rays and a quick examination by the doctor, we learned that he has a Grade 1 tear of his medial ligament. Where is that, you say? It's the ligament on the inside of your knee that attaches the femur and the tibia (who knew you'd read this and get a minor anatomy lesson?). He tore some of the ligament away from his femur and has severely sprained it. Now JAD has to wear a hinged knee brace for 6 weeks and ice it after all activity. He also has about 9 exercises that he needs to do every day for the next 6 weeks to strengthen and help heal the ligament. The doctor also cleared him to play. I was shocked when I heard this. I was expecting him to say he needed to take a couple of weeks off - after all, he had just said that the regular knee brace JAD has been wearing isn't sturdy enough and he would need a hinged brace. Doesn't this somehow mean that his knee is weaker than we thought? But what do I know? I'm just a silly old mom. The doctor actually looked at me when he told JAD that he could play again and said, "Did you want me to say something else?" Umm. Ya. Like tell my kid he needs some time off for rehabilitation.

So, I dropped him off at school this afternoon suited up for his high school game. I'm just praying that he will be smart (he won't be) and careful (he won't be) while he plays. The last thing I need to do is go back to the doctor to tell him what a dumbass he was for clearing my kid to play.

The end.

Another Soccer Player is Born

Well, okay, she wasn't born yesterday, but we have yet another soccer player in our house. This makes for a grand total of all five kids as MED is also playing soccer. MAD started playing this month as part of Corinthians Soccer's Itty Bity Soccer Academy. How cute is that? Kids ages 3, 4, and 5 are part of this Academy and they practice once a week on ball handling skills and basic team playing skills. It's complete chaos, but the kids are having a grand ole time while doing it. On Saturday mornings, they come out to a 'real soccer field' to scrimmage against one another. It is total craziness, but the parents get a good laugh while watching our kids 'play' and all the little ones have a blast running around chasing the ball. No score is kept and all kids are cheered by all parents. MAD has latched on to the club director, Flavio, and I fear if he isn't there one day, she'll refuse to even walk onto the field. This whole experience adds levity to our competitive schedule and it's fun to watch kids just have fun playing the game of soccer without worrying about stats, goals, and level of play. So, Saturday mornings, you'll find one or both of us parents enjoying the game of soccer in its purest form ever. Through the eyes of a four year old.

Our littlest soccer player. Isn't she cute enough to eat?

MAD standing by her new favorite person, Flavio

Last Weekend

Because I'm a slacker, I didn't mention that last weekend we drove back and forth to Denver for our first soccer tournament of the year. JADs team played for the first time together (it's a combination of two teams) and the coach used this pre-season opportunity to figure out which positions the boys should play and to see how they would gel as a team. The boys won the first game, but lost the next two. The third game was quite exciting to watch but, unfortunately, the calls were just not with us. At least it's pre-season!


A picture that embodies the absolute frustration JAD felt during the second game when his team just fell apart. Things can only get better from this point.

The Soccer Fun Rolls On... and On... and On...

Friday night JED began a new season of indoor soccer. He's playing with some boys that he's played with before and he loves his coaches (one is a friend of ours - the dad of a boy on JADs team). JED played hard along with his teammates, but they were defeated by a team that had as many subs as they had players on the field. JED got his turn at playing goalkeeper in the second half and allowed only 3 goals (two boys in the first half together allowed 8 goals, so JED certainly did a great job!). He loves playing keeper and he even ran back into the house because he forgot his goalie gloves. I'm glad my kids have the opportunity to play soccer year-round (even if the experts say that playing one sport exclusively is bad for them). It's what they love and if the opportunity is there we will do what we can to help them play. Call me crazy.

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Today JAD and CED played in their very first 3v3 tournament. I'm not going to rehash any scores (neither team won a single game), but watching the games was fun and it turned into a beautiful day. 3v3 is a completely different game than a regular soccer game. The fields are small, the goal nets are small, and the players move fast and are very physical. I think the game certainly separates the 'men from the boys' so-to-speak. It was a great experience for both of my kids and I was very entertained to see how competitive CED, in particular, became (I already know how extremely competitive JAD is - no new news there). Her coach kept saying "We're here to have fun and learn" and CED kept saying "I'm here to win!" I wonder where these kids get it from?

A Week in Words

Life has been busy busy lately, but yet I've felt like there's nothing to write about. Last week CED and JAD both had soccer tryouts and we are still waiting to hear what the results are. I'm not worried about CED - except we don't know at this point if she'll even have a team this coming year. Her team had to play a girl down quite a lot this last season and we don't want to repeat that. Unfortunately, we only had one new player show up for tryouts which only replaces the one girl who is leaving due to a move out of state. JADs situation is a bit different, however. There were two teams last year at the U13 level - a Classic 1 and Challenge. This year only 19 boys showed up for tryouts which means that the two teams are going to be combined into one and this team will stay up at the Classic 1 division. Tryouts finished this past Thursday and we are still waiting for the coach to call the boys to tell them if they made the team or not. Parents are starting to get frustrated.

On another note, JAD graduated from 8th grade on Thursday. Most of our day was taken up with his pre-graduation activities: graduation practice in the morning (for 2 1/2 hours!), class picture downtown with students all dressed up (1 hour), and then to graduation itself by 6:30. It really was a nice ceremony and it was wonderful watching how the whole class gets along. What was even more amazing was watching how they have all gelled together and how they accept each and every person - newcomer or there forever - so completely. JAD has made so many friends and he knows everybody, which is quite something considering he started there in March. After the graduation, there was a reception for all the families and then the eighth graders stayed for a dance until 11. My son actually danced with several girls! I love seeing his confidence and comfort in who he is. He has made the final decision to continue on at Vanguard next year (the high school where he's at) despite the soccer team's disappointing record. K and I certainly won't argue with our child that chooses the top academic school in the state! We are so very proud of our son - he is developing into a remarkable young man... even despite the teenage moodiness.

CED took her entrance exams for CMCA on Thursday while JAD was doing graduation practice. She is currently number five on the waiting list, so they wanted to get testing done. When she got home, I asked her how the tests were. She just laughed and said 'easy'. I believe her when she says that. I knew the testing would be easy for her. I had warned her about the math, because they make it progressively harder so they can properly place the student in the right math class. She finished all of the problems and realized, after the fact, that she had done one wrong. I don't think the testing will keep her from getting into the school. We have been told that the school does not have a place for her yet, but I anticipate that she'll be in by the end of the first quarter. Meanwhile, she is continuing with summer homework for the middle school she is technically slotted for. She has been accepted into the Pre-AP program there, along with about 25 other students. In fact, this coming week she'll be attending UCCS for an enrichment program with her classmates (and other students around the city). CED will be taking classes dealing with math and science - some of them are classes I would like to take!

On Friday, I had two interviews - one at a daycare for a PreKindergarten teacher and the other at an elementary school for fifth grade. I, unfortunately, did not get 'good feelings' as I left either interview. The PreKindergarten teacher is potentially good, but horrible pay. Understandably, they are concerned that I will leave them in a couple of months if I get a job in an actual school (better pay and benefits), but they were also very happy that I am very qualified. The elementary school job is one I highly want, for obvious reasons. The principal was very personable and the school is beautiful. The student demographics are very different from where I've worked the last two years, but I think I can handle that! I already know the math and reading curriculum that they use (it's what I've taught previously), so that's helpful. Of course, I keep thinking of all the things I should've said during the interview that I didn't. I hate interviewing. I will know about both jobs around the end of the week, but I'm not holding my breath.

We are currently debating about getting MAD tested for early entry into kindergarten. The principal at the kids' elementary school said she would help us get her in, even if her scores are close to what the district is looking for. I have to go to her daycare tomorrow to get a letter of recommendation from her teacher. Ms. Heidi kept telling me she was more ready for kindergarten than anyone of her classmates. We'll see what happens. It would be nice to not pay for daycare anymore. I know she can handle kindergarten and all that it entails. It just means that my baby is in school and my kids are growing up too fast. Oh, parenting and the heartache that it entails sometimes.

I will work on getting graduation pictures - for all three of my kids - up on the blog this week. My camera does not work well inside (the pictures all come out dark), so everything is on Ks camera. He hasn't been home all weekend as he is attending a class to get his Type E soccer coaching license. Yesterday he came home and had to take a 4 hour test for the class and today he gets to teach a lesson to his classmates about defense. He is having great fun, though, and has learned a lot about coaching. I think he'll be putting some of this to work this fall - he may be helping coach either CEDs team or JADs team this year. So, with that said, once K can get pics off his camera, I will get them posted so you can see my beautiful graduates!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. It's been absolutely gorgeous here with temps in the upper 80s - my favorite weather!

Soccerday, Week Who-Knows

Today is Soccerday and it's cold here. Where is Spring? It flirts with us - we get beautiful skies, warm, sunny weather and then BOOM! It's cold again. The weather forecasters are talking about what parts of the Springs are going to get snow overnight. SNOW. In the middle of May. This is just crazy. Today started out pretty nice - cool, but sunny, so that fought off any kind of chill you might feel outside. By the time we got to JEDs game this afternoon, the clouds had rolled in, the breeze had picked up, and the temperatures started dropping. K and I are still feeling chilled and my nose is cold to the touch. We were supposed to go to the Sky Sox game tonight with friends, but we backed out knowing that the little girls would be miserable by the beginning of the second inning. Bummer.

Okay, so back to Soccerday. We started out the morning at CEDs game with a whopping 10 girls and that's how they played. They fought hard - especially with two of the girls not feeling well - and pulled out a solid win of 4-0. It still marvels us that they have a record now of 7-1-0 when their record last fall was 0-7-1. Notice the correlation? Weird. But we definitely like seeing that 7 at the beginning of their stats! They have worked hard this Spring and it's really paying off.

Game 2 was JEDs game. I'm not sure of the final score and we're really not going to worry about that. Get my drift? But JED did score his team's only goal, so we're really pleased with that. We spent much of that game hunkered down under blankets trying to stay warm. That, and trying to keep Desi under control. K and I decided to take both dogs to the game and Emma was a picture perfect dog - well behaved and she sat or laid down the whole time. Desi, on the other hand, got out of her collar twice, rolled all over the ground, and tried to tackle any person that walked near in hopes that they would pet her. I've never said that the black lab was smart. Just the opposite. But we love her all the same.

JAD didn't have a game today, so we got away with only two games today (although JED has another game tomorrow, so it's still a grand total of three games this weekend). Instead, he went to a birthday party at his girlfriend's house. He ended up being the only boy that showed up, which was, in his words, "awkward". This was a huge step - letting our son go to a girl's birthday party. I don't like the fact that my kids are getting older and liking people of the opposite sex. I'm not ready, even if they are.

Hope your Soccerday was warmer than ours. Look for an update on JEDs second game of the weekend in the next few days...

Soccerday Wrap-up

Today we had three games (what else is new?) that, fortunately, kept us close to home. The day started off with JADs 8:00 game (which meant we were up by six - ack!). The boys handily won the game 6-1. We even put a boy in at keeper for the entire second half that NEVER plays this position EVER. That's how much the boys dominated the game. After the last couple of rough weeks, it was good to see them win a game. CEDs game followed later at 12:30. The girls played a lot of the game on our side of the field (that's never reassuring), but they scored just before the half and managed to hang on until the end. The other team was subbing girls 5 at a time... we had one sub. The sun was shining, the temperature was warm and all of the girls - both teams included - were hot and tired by the end. They've gotten used to playing in the cold weather we've been having, ironically, on weekends. Playing with the temps in the upper 70s threw them all for a loop. I, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying my time in the warm weather and sun. Well, that is until I realized my legs were completely fried. They are now a very bright, bright red. It's not so pleasant and enjoyable now.
JEDs game was five minutes down the road from CEDs game, but started at 1:00, so I couldn't be there. JEDs team won their game as well with a score of 5-2. JED scored every. single. goal. His coach, if you remember, wants him to score and apparently that's just what he did today. K kept sending me texts updating me on the score at JEDs game. The first goal came in the first minute. What a way to set a precedent for the game!
I hope you all had an equally pleasant Soccerday. We are still outside enjoying the warm weather. I, however, am wrapped in blankets and all other sorts of cold weather gear because my nearly blistered skin is making the night air (which is currently at 69 degrees) feel positively frigid. Lesson learned - skin not exposed all winter needs to be covered the first warm and sunny day so as not to become lobster-like. But it was a great Soccerday. :)

Oh, Soccerday

Today was a rough day in our house, for the most part. We traveled both near and far for our soccer games. K and CED headed out at 9:20 this morning to go 2 1/2 hours north to Greeley. The girls played against their toughest competitors and they ended up losing. I won't rehash scores (it was rough) and CED was in tears when I talked to her on the phone at the end of the game. So, their undefeated streak is over, but I think this was an eye-opener for the girls that they can't just skate through a game - they have to give it their all all the time. And they didn't do that today.
JADs game was equally rough. His game was in Denver this afternoon, so after JEDs game, the four other kids and I headed up there and met K and CED as they headed south towards home. It wasn't a pretty game, either, and JAD didn't say more than 10 words to me on the hour twenty minute ride home. He was peeved beyond belief and at the end of the game refused to run the field with his teammates. He's not competitive or anything. To make matters worse, he overheard his coach say to the ref before the game, "This is going to be a bad game because our key player isn't here." His coach has consistently played favorites more and more this last season and it's really becoming an issue because he clearly favors two or three players and is pretty dismissive of the rest of the team. And downright rude and nasty to others. We may have a couple of boys on the team that aren't 'naturals' at soccer, but you certainly don't put them down day after day in front of all the other boys. JAD is really upset about the comment today and, obviously, so am I (as I go on with my mini-tirade about this).
JEDs game, fortunately, is a better story. His coach asks him every day before the game to 'go score goals.' We've even gone so far as to offer him $0.50 per goal. Well, today we have to pay up. JED scored four goals and was certainly the MVP for his team today! They ended up tied at 5-5, but JED was quite happy with the results.
I always love going to watch all of my kids play soccer, but I'm really glad today is over. Whew.