It's Game Time!

Where can you find tackling, tickling, giggling, kicking, high-fives, excitement, tears, cheers, hugs, and chaos? Saturday morning at the soccer fields watching 3 and 4 year olds play!!! There is not better entertainment available AND it's free (unless you're a parent and then of course there was a fee for the uniform and such). We had the best time at Jackson's first ever soccer game today. Let me paint a little picture of our outing . . .

We arrive early to get our uniform and change, realize we don't have chairs, so . . . mom turns around to get chairs leaving dad and Jackson at the fields. Mom gets pulled over, but due to her overwhelming charm (or maybe just because Mrs. Police Officer was really nice), she manages to get only a verbal warning. Mom makes it back to the fields as dad is beginning to get agitated because it took longer than he thought it would and now there are only 10 minutes left until game time (gasp, how will be ever make it from the parking lot to the field that is 10 yards away in 10 minutes!). We get babies loaded in strollers while answering a hundred phone calls from Uncle Jacob and Aunt Kiki who are coming to the game. Get to the field and there is still another team playing. Turns out we had 20 minutes dad!

Our Number 4!

Finally, it's game time. Babies, mommy and Aunt Kiki are on the blanket, the food is set out and being thrown everywhere, Uncle Jacob is armed with the camera and daddy is armed with the video camera. GAME ON! Two teams of 3 year olds converge on each other in a swarm of chaos and cleat clad feet! Some are paying attention, some are wandering, some are running aimlessly, but looking good doing it. My son, is fluctuating between paying attention and wandering. When he's on, HE IS ON, but sometimes it's like he doesn't know there is a game going on. Then, there's his best friend, who is pretty much on top of the ball, except when he's on top of Jackson, literally! I think the coach may get a little tired of yelling "John, Jackson, get over here" before the end of the season. Man, when these two are playing they are always right by the ball, but when they're not, they are always right by each other. At one point, they were locked in a hug, that turned into a take down with John on top (I told you it was literal). Now don't get me wrong, Jackson was fine, this was a mutual and friendly wrestling match! Sometimes they were holding hands, sometimes they were running off the field together to get water in the middle of play or worse running on the field together to put themselves in play when they were supposed to be sitting on the sidelines!! I guess they felt the team needed them. Then there were the celebrations when they scored (even when they scored on their own goal). Lots of high fives and "I did it!"

John and Jackson always together!

I'm making it sound like they were all over the place which they were, but they also focused really well at times, managed to take the ball from the other team and move it down the field. I was a very impressed and proud momma! Jackson's star play of the game was when he took the ball from the other team, ran it up the sideline without going out of bounds and broke away from the pack for the goal (and on the correct goal at that)! He took the ball about 3/4 of the way down the field. It was a great play, but alas it was not caught on video :( Though Uncle Jacob says he got it in a series of still shots.

Breaking away

Takin' it to the goal!

This play was much more impressive than when Jackson took the ball from his own teammate (John, no less). We need to work on when to steal. Jackson's other friend, Jantzen, did well too. Jantzen has been a little nervous about playing on the field with the boys, but he got out there a little today and even kicked a ball from mid-field into the goal (it was the wrong goal, but we cheered our hearts out anyway)! We laughed a lot and cheered a lot for all the boys. They had a blast and so did we! Really enjoying it so far and I have a feeling it's just going to get better!