Soccer!

This session of soccer is almost over and I just got around to taking the camera and staying. The timing on the games isn't ideal and is different every single time, so I have mostly been dropping Thomas off and then going home to cook dinner or putting Henry to bed while Matt takes Thomas to soccer (8 pm games!). But this week had a sunny day with a 5:30 game, so I packed the camera and planned to stay the whole time. :)

We ended up buying Thomas sports glasses after he had a run-in with the playground equipment at school. We figured the more "intense" his sports get, the more likely he is going to do that at a game and I'd rather him not get hurt. Then we found out this league requires sports glasses - well what perfect timing we have! And I debated quite a bit on the transition lenses, but as miserable as I am without sunglasses outside, I figured he should have them. Doesn't he look too rad in them??

Henry was not so excited that he couldn't run around with his big brother. He was probably also a little mad that mommy left his sunglasses at home. Whoops! At least I remembered his hat...

This league does things a little differently than the one he played with before. There are teams set up from the start (he's obviously on the red team) and two teams play at one of the three time slots twice a week. It's nice if you have several kids because they always schedule the same color team at the same time no matter the age group. It's less convenient when your four year old has an 8 pm slot, but so far it's worked out. 

The first 45 minutes are devoted to practice and the last 30 the two teams actually play a real game. This was a big change from the running around chaos we were used to and Thomas really seems to like the structure. He does great at all of the practice drills and you can see how excited he is! Oh and they had to get real soccer cleats this year - I think I found the only pair in Anchorage that was small enough for his feet. 

And we ended up buying him two new balls after we thought we lost his first one. His absolute favorite is this classic black and white one. Probably because all of his toys with soccer balls have this pattern. 

This practice drill was trying to run the ball into the goal while your team mate tries to get it away from you. And Thomas got it in! Go Thomas!

He looks like quite the little soccer player, doesn't he??

Henry finally got sympathy from his momma about not getting to play and I let him play the Lego train game on my phone. It seemed fair since that is what Thomas does when he is on the sidelines at Henry's tumbling class. And I feel really bad about how much he is squinting. Sorry again about the sunglasses, little man!

Line-up before the game starts. I had no idea what they were doing, but Matt told me they were checking their equipment. They have to have their shirts tucked in, shin guards on and no jewelry on. Apparently most weeks one of the little girls will have forgotten her earrings or necklace. This time it looks like everyone was up to par. 

The games generally look like a moving mass of kids chasing the soccer ball. Some of the 5 years old actually can play really well, but for the most part it's a mess. But Thomas chases along with the rest of the players. And the coaches and referees are all super supportive. In case it's not obvious, we really like this league!

Proud daddy watching from the sidelines! Thomas still gets a little distracted in the game part. He has great focus during practice, but with so much going on during the games, he sometimes forgets to watch the ball. 

But he managed to get a solid kick or two or three (etc!) in while I was happily snapping photos! I think the girl on the right ended up scoring the goal on this run. It was pretty exciting to watch all of the kids and how happy they would get when they scored or got the ball. Plus all of the parents were cheering for everyone's kids - which is way more exciting for the kids instead of just their own parents. :)

Finally out for a break! They switch out every 5 minutes, but Thomas was in for 10 this first bit because we were short a few kiddos (summers in Alaska are hard!). He was out of breath, but super excited about playing. This little boy is definitely a soccer player! 

You make us super proud, Thomas!