Soccer!!

Since Jackson could talk and kick a ball, he has been obsessed with soccer (much to his father's chagrin.) This is primarily because his Uncle Jacob was playing high school soccer and . . . let's face it, Uncle Jacob is just cool! Recently he has begun to talk a little more about playing football one day which is a direct of result of his Daddy's influence, but he still loves soccer. Since he is too young for football, we signed him up this year for the local Upward Soccer league. He had his first practice Monday night and it went great! He had a blast and at the end I did hear overhear him telling his friend, "You and me were the fastest!" Which was actually accurate.

Now I don't want to brag about my kid (o.k. maybe I do), but he is pretty coordinated. He has kicked a ball with good coordination and decent aim for a long time and he has been able to run while kicking a soccer ball without breaking stride for some time, but this was all when he was playing one on one with Uncle Jacob, Poppo or Daddy. I honestly thought that when we put him on a team at a practice or a game, he would be too distracted by the other kids and having too much fun to perform at all. I was wrong about practice. He actually listened, maintained attention and participated appropriately in all the drills that the coach had him do. The coach was fabulous, he changed activities frequently knowing that 3 year olds don't have a long attention span and he had some great tactics for getting the boys to stop and pay attention when necessary. I was impressed. Game performance remains to be seen, but practice was good.

Jackson and John having a meeting on the fieldKynlee getting in a little exploration during soccer practice

Coach keeping the boys' and girls' attention. He made them put one foot on their ball every time they stopped an activity to show that they were ready to listen and move on. The kids did great with this.

Jackson and John having a fashion discussion over the fact that they both had white shin guards!

Jackson is getting to play with two of his best friends, John and Jantzen. I really think they will have a great time together! Jantzen was a little gun shy at the first practice, but I think he'll warm up pretty quick. They don't keep score for games at this age and the coach seems to be all about having fun and trying to learn a little in the process. Our first game is Saturday morning. I can't wait! I think it's going to be so much fun to watch the chaos that is three year olds trying to run around a field, while kicking a ball and trying to figure out where to go! Wish us luck. GO TEAM PORTUGAL!