U6 Soccer 2012

Silas got a bunch of soccer gear from his grandma in preparation for his first practice.

We thought he looked just like a professional.

First practice.  He's the one with the blue arms.

He LOVED it.  He had the biggest grin on his face.

He didn't really care for the dribbling practice, but the actual playing part was really exciting for him.

Eli enjoyed watching with Grammy.

He always had an eye on Silas.

First game!

In his team uniform.

Rehydrating.  It was cool outside but really sunny.  Perfect weather, really.

There are a lot of kids, so they all practice together on Thursdays (which Christian can't make because of work) but divide into teams for the games on Saturdays.  So Christian gets to coach his games on Saturdays!

Silas is the tallest kid on his team.

 U6 soccer only puts three players on the field at a time.

  

It surprised me how well the game went.  They all knew which way they needed to kick the ball and didn't crowd in too much.

They'll learn to spread out and pass in the next year or two.

Eli played with the towel and Charlotte's wallet.

Christian coaching Silas on how to kick off.

There he goes!

 

Char joined us for his first game, too.

Eli had both Grammy and Auntie Char with him.  He enjoyed himself.

As a side note, Christian's men's team is also still playing.  He managed to coach Silas' game then run over and make the second half of his own game.

Soccer

Christian played a little bit of men's soccer again this year.  We got to watch him play in only one game, but we had a lot of fun that day. 

Christian warmed up by playing with Silas.

Instead of in the heat of the high school's metal benches, we got to sit under the trees next to the band's practice field.  We took Eli's umbrella in case we couldn't sit in the shade.  

And so he could play with it.

Silas goofing off with some glasses.

The boys watching Daddy play.

Daddy as goalkeeper and wearing an XXL jersey.  He'd never played goalie before and he enjoyed it.

Peaches!

There's Auntie Char joining us!  

Eli's distracted by Silas' ear, but everyone else is cheesing away.

My precious little boy, still for just long enough to snap this photo.

Euro Cup 2012

I don't know if being involved in a sport helped or if it's just his age, but Silas really got into the EuroCup games this year with Christian.  Besides somehow becoming a Portugal fan, he also started drawing the games on the dry erase desk: 

Poor Daddy, England lost to Italy on penalties.  I love how he got the goals, the pitch, the crowd and the players in different colors, the scoreboard, and how he spelled out England, albeit incorrectly.  We can have a discussion another day about how teaching phonics with two differing accents can be confusing for a child.

Our Saturday

Our weekend started off with Christian's last soccer game for the season.  Unfortunately, I didn't actually get any pictures of Christian playing, but I got a couple of the boys playing with Silas' new buccaneer set.

What do you think of Eli's earring?  Horrible, I know.

Silas really liked his hook.

After we got home, we went swimming with the family.

Then Eli helped Daddy fix the oven.

Football...Or Soccer

Christian joined an adult summer soccer league.  It's the first time he's played in a serious game for almost 15 years.  It's a passion of his, and I'm glad he gets to play again. 

Christian taking a gorgeous corner kick, which a team member easily headed in for a goal.  (I completely missed the goal because I was taking this photo.)

Silas watching his daddy play.

Eli enjoying the warm weather, even though his allergies were flaring up.

Christian warming up.

Our brother-in-law, who told Christian about the summer league.

"Go Daddy!"  Eli with his auntie.

The downside of playing his first game in 15 years:  one of his greatest fears becoming reality, he's not as fit as he once was.

So what do we call it in our house?  Well, we live in America, so we call it soccer.  But if we lived in England, it would be football.