Soccer Superstar

Hmm- Soccer Superstar ... Quite frankly after the first night of soccer those are two words that I didn't think I would ever use for Sarah. She started community soccer a few weeks ago and the first night didn't go so well. It usually takes her a bit to warm up to new things but for whatever reason on this particular night there was no warming up to the idea of playing. Halfway through the game Trevor brought Sarah home and announced that " that did not go well!!!" Hmm really - I never would have guessed that from the screaming kid slung over your shoulder!

Take 2: The second game I took Sarah and it started off much the same. I convinced her to go and start the drills/warm-up with her team. She was fine until her friend ran one way and her ball went the other. Must have been quite a dilemma as to which one to follow as she ran off the field in tears. After some comforting and a bit of tough love I convinced her yet again to go and play. Another round of tears and cries that she wanted to go home followed. I explained to her at this point that if we went home our soccer days were done because if she wasn't having fun she didn't have to play. Not wanting to give up on it just yet she went back onto the field and .......

SCORED A GOAL. And then SCORED ANOTHER ONE. And then had 3 or four breakaways where she kicked the ball all the way down the field herself and just missed the net by inches each time. All of a sudden we had a soccer superstar. While most of the other kids on her team wanted to sit on the sidelines Sarah was volunteering to go on again and and again and keep playing. I couldn't believe it and couldn't have been more proud of her.

After the game I thought I would capitalize on the excitement and so I praised her awesome play and told her how great she did and how proud I was that she played when many others didn't. I may have created a bit of an ego monster however as I heard her announce to the neighbours the next day " I'm a soccer superstar -- None of the other kids on my team even play. " Oops. Oh well she also asked that same day if it was a soccer night and was disappointed to find out she had another week before the next game.

These pictures are from that next game where again she got 2 or 3 goals (Not sure if a goal on their own net counts!) Regardless it is so fun to watch her and she is easy to spot with her orange headband!

This is Sarah and her friend Ainsley. They will be in Kindergarten together next year. I am sure this is the first of many pictures of the two of them together.