The Final Countdown

Well, today marked the end of Allison's first season of competitive soccer. Last Sunday was supposed to be the end, but due to the weather last week, it was decided to postpone the final weekend to November 3-4th. The last weekend of Pottsgrove soccer is called a tournament, as all the teams play 3 games, and the association turns into festival mode as well. There were soccer vendors, a moon-bounce, but no funnel cake. Disappointed was I. Daniel and Zachary were able to take part in some of their games, but as Becky was leaving that day as well, they weren't able to play in all of them. Zach made two games, and Daniel only one. It was very cold, and the wind was swirling, but we were only able to stay for half of one of Zachary's games. Lindsay was bundled up, but even so, with the wind blustering across her little face, it just made it difficult for us to rationalize us staying. Becky came back to the house, and left soon after she packed a few more things into her SUV before her trip home. Our year of service came to an end, with tears of thanks, and a brief hug with each of them. They arrived home safely in Carolina at 8:00 PM or so. Things seem quiet again without them, and I do miss having them around after getting used to them being here. I hope that they will adjust to being home with Mom again well, but have no doubt they will.

Allison's games were on Sunday, starting at 2:00 PM. For the rest of the season, the first half hour is spent on drills, and a mini-practice for a half hour. The rest of the hour is spent on the game, it's really up to the coaches. Well, this weekend there was no practice time, just three 20 minute games with no half-time break. The first game went great, with Allison's team scoring a ton of goals, and most of them by players who hadn't scored at all in the rest of the season. The second game was more of the same, as the team showed real signs of progress from the beginning of the year when we had only two kids who ever scored. That game showed that Allison was tired, and she ended up playing with a boy on the other team more than the soccer game. Coach Chris looked at us at one point and said, "Looks like someone has a little boyfriend." We laughed, and then mosied over to the last field for the final game. We ended up getting hammered that game (even though no official score is ever kept) by that team, but all the kids were tired and just wanted it to be over. Allison came over to us and was so excited about getting her trophy. Coach Vince gathered the kids around him, and handed a trophy to each of the players, with words of praise for each of them. Allison was called, and Coach Vince said, "This player was scared to play sharks and minnows when we first started, but she overcame that and scored a goal this season." He was great with her, and I thanked him for all his help in getting Allison to understand the game and enjoy herself. If he's coaching in the spring for the afternoon session, I want him to coach her again. Rachel and I are toying with the idea of trying to coach a pee wee team, if my schedule permits. Congrats Allie on your first foray into competitive sports .... you BETTER DO WELL !!! (giggles)