Good Bye to Soccer Season

Amberly decided that she wanted to play soccer this year. She enjoyed watching Neal play last year and she thought it looked like fun. We signed her up and she lucked out to be on a team with our favorite coach. She played on a team with many other kids from our neighborhood.

Each Tuesday evening at practice, Amberly was excited to go. She kicked the ball around a little, skipped around the field and joked with her friends. Most of the time she appeared to be on another planet from the other soccer players. I'm very sure she wasn't on the same planet as her coach.

That's my Amberly with the pink soccer socks and the pink skirt (fashion is important even during soccer).

During the games she ran with the other kids and sometimes she even seemed to know where the ball was. She always had a positive attitude. Just before every game she'd tell the coach with honest enthusiasm that she'd score a goal for him.

I actually got one picture of Amberly kicking the ball. If the ball happened to come to her, by some miracle, she did do her best to kick it or at least try to kick it. Her dad offered to pay her a dollar if she kicked the ball ten times in one game. He saved his money.

Amberly's final game of the season was on Thursday night. It was cold--as in 44 degrees cold. She wore layers. Stylish, don't you think.

Amberly's coach really wanted her to get a chance to score a goal, so during the final quarter of the game, he sent her to stand by the goal and wait for the ball to come. If it got close to her she was supposed to kick the ball right in the goal. She obeyed her coach and hurried to her position. In fact, she never left it. Even when the goalie from the other team gave her a shove and she fell flat on her back. She just got back up and stood there some more. I wish I had gotten a picture of that shove. I did get some pictures of some of the other goalie/Amberly interaction.

She did a great job of distracting the goalie, that is for sure.

Can you see her in the back ground of this picture? Does it look like she has any idea where the ball is? Do you think that if the ball had gotten any where near her she would have known it? She is very focused on the goal and that darn goalie.

When the game was finally over and the soccer players hurried over to get their treats and their medals, Amberly was still standing by the other team's goal box. She may have been frozen solid. I called her name for a few minutes before she realized that the game had ended and she joined her team on the sidelines.

Amberly's major contribution to her soccer team this season was the beautiful poster she colored for her coach. She made sure to include each one of her teammates in the picture. What can I say? The girl is an artist. A soccer player, not so much--at least not until next year. Because after the game, I asked her if she wanted to play again next year. I was expecting her to say "no" like she did when I asked if she still wanted to take dance classes (she loved the tutu). She surprised me. She got a big smile and said, "yes! I love soccer."