K & K Meador (+2): fall soccer

This post is gonna be long, but man, we had a good soccer season! I truly love Soccer Saturday, and it's been fun watching Brooke and Colby progress and have fun. Brooke was a little disappointed that Colby had the purple jersey, but I sort of loved her streamlined black and white look :)

Walnut Ridge has grown quite a bit since we started a few years ago, so the practice and game times are more spread out than they used to be. That worked in our favor so that we didn't have much overlap. Colby's practices and games tended to be first, followed by Brooke.

I was really hoping that Colby would have a better coach than last year, but I think this one was actually worse! She was super sweet, but had no plan for practice and was totally aloof as far as directing and redirecting the kids. I was sort of dying on the sidelines during practice when she wasn't doing a darn thing! The kids just ran around kicking the ball, and at the very end, she would do a semi-structured activity for 5-6 minutes, then break for devotional and snacks. I know these kids are little, but they were still very teachable and could have learned a lot about soccer and playing together as a team.

Since they didn't really practice anything, the games were a free-for-all. When the opposing team kept scoring on them, Colby positioned himself smack dab in front of the goal with arms and legs spread wide, haha.

Brooke, on the other hand, was with her same amazing coach from last season! We had such a wonderful experience with him in the Spring, we requested him again for the Fall season. Not only is he knowledgable about soccer, but he is able to coach the kids with love and kindness. He was able to work on strengths and weaknesses with each child, and built them up in the process.

Brookie's friend Brooks was on the team again, as well as her friends Claire and Jorge from school (a total coincidence).

I've written about this before, but I love that they have devotionals between the practice and game, and end the game with a prayer. This wouldn't be PC in other places, but I love that it works in Texas :)

I can't decide if I liked watching Brooke more in practice or during her game! Practice was fun because she was able to fine-tune her skills, but games were fun because she was able to implement those new skills. The first few games she was still reserved and not very aggressive, but something changed mid-season and she was on fire!

The week that cousins came to watch the games, Colby was in rare form. Nothing like a little audience to keep him interested in the game :)

Kinley was trying to get a picture of Colby during Brooke's game, and Colby kept trying to hide, haha.

Thanks for coming to support our kiddos! We loved having Auntie Mel Mel, Kinley, and Aubrey with us for a few hours.

Brooke even scored her first goal of the season, so we told Kinley and Aubrey that they must have been good luck and that they needed to come to ALL the games, haha.

Brooke was beaming with pride, especially because her coach picked her up and twirled her around after she scored! He recognized what a huge accomplishment that was for her, and I even got it on video!

Another Saturday, another "practice" for Colby. Kevin told me that I need to coach next year so I won't be so annoyed with the lack of organization, haha.

Papa came to support Colby Little :)

Did I mention how blazing hot the games were? You can tell by Brooke's rosy cheeks! This is why we've never signed up for Fall soccer before, but since I wanted to stay with her coach (Shane Owens) I didn't want to skip a season. I just quickly learned that there was no point in getting ready because I was ALWAYS a sweaty mess by the end of the 3-4 hours at the fields.

This picture is a great reminder of the "World Cup" play the coach taught the kids. He had Brooke kick it a lot, which she really loved. She would raise her hand in the air while her team lined up, then would drop her hand to signal to her team that she was gonna make the kick so they could rush the goal. I could watch her do this play all day. I could literally see the confidence it gave her, which I know is why her coach gave her this job. Plus, she has a really strong kick :)

Oh, and something funny to remember: Colby heard the coach tell the kids to get ready for World Cup, and Colby turned to me and said, "What's Wood Chuck?" I was cracking up, so of course he kept saying it over and over.

Sweet friends, Claire and Brooke. These girls played together every day after school last year, and continue to play together this year.

That cute boy is her friend Jorge, who we also knew from Kindergarten pick-up last year.

Due to the extreme heat, we had to increase our water intake. I brought the big aqua jug to simply refill their bottles with ice water, but of course they wanted to drink straight from the jug. It's more fun that way, right?

I also kept having flashbacks of myself while Brooke was running around. My mom used to do that exact same hairstyle for me during soccer season, and I loved that she looked like me when I was little. Except that her legs are way longer and skinnier than mine ever were, haha.

She scored another goal during the game, and I was freaking out!! Kevin and I were both so, SO, proud. She was pushing herself, and we both loved seeing her skills and confidence grow.

The next week, Colby was super into the practice, especially when it came to racing his friends. I think a few of the parents had complained because the Coach actually had somewhat of a plan. And guess what, those kids flourished with more structure.

Grandma had been out of town for weeks, but she made a special trip down to see both kids play in their games :)

Before we knew it, the season was over! I was seriously sad about it, especially because the weather was starting to get better. Colby played hard during practice, but Kevin said he lost a little interest as the game wore on. I took Brooke to a birthday party, so I missed his last game :( I asked Kevin to take a few pictures, and he made sure to get one with his very first medal.

We left the birthday party early so we could make it back for Brooke's practice. They had already practiced a few skills before the coach had them line up on the white line. I walked closer to take a picture, and I heard the Coach talking about a player who used her "L trick" in the last game. He asked the kids if they knew who it was. Several of the kids pointed to themselves, but then the Coach said that it was Brooke. She was so happy. Coach said that not only did he notice, but his wife had also made a comment about seeing her pull off the trick mid-game. This is why I love the coach. He builds the kids up by pointing out their strengths and helping them to see their potential.

After the game, the Coach asked everyone if they had a fun season with their friends. Of course, the kids all shouted YES! He then talked to them about how Jesus Christ is their best friend. He encouraged them to pray to Him always, and be a good friend to others.

We took a few team pictures before he presented them with their medals. When he handed Brooke her medal, he commented that he had never been so proud of a player as when Brooke scored her first goal this season. He had positive things to say about each player, which was powerful.