I explained in the previous post about our decision to move the kids over to Mansfield Soccer Association, but I started to doubt that decision when we received an email a few weeks before the season started stating that our son was on a team without a coach. They were seeking volunteers, and stated that if nobody was willing, the team would be dissolved. I didn't feel qualified to coach, and since Kevin doesn't get home until 6:30 or later every night, he couldn't really do it either. We just crossed our fingers that one of the other parents would step up. Well, somebody did, but it was an interesting dynamic. Her name was Darlene and she was a yeller. Most of her yelling was directed at her son, Bryson, but I didn't really love her whole demeanor. One of the other dads was the assistant coach and we really liked him, but he definitely let her play the role of head coach.
Colby had a few teammates that we liked, but overall, it wasn't as cohesive of a group as he's had in the past. There were several boys who complained a lot and they needed a lot of redirection to stay on task.
We eventually had our first game and Colby offered to be the goalie for the first half. He was completely bored because the ball rarely went on their side of the field, so I don't think he'll be offering again anytime soon.
The next week his game was at 9 AM, which we were grateful for because it was blazing hot by the afternoon. We're still in the 100's here in Texas, which is really hot when you're playing soccer.
The Warriors had their first win, and it must have had something to do with his bright orange cheering section :) I don't have anything neon orange, so I was the odd one out.
The next week we were in Burleson and the extended family came to support him and Brooke :)
I am always impressed with Colby's determination and drive, even when it's incredibly hot and the other team is dominating.
Soccer Saturday looked different one week because I was home with a sick Brooke, but Kevin said that Colby played well on defense. I took him back to the fields later for his team pics and snapped a picture of my favorite Warrior.
I wrote about this on Brooke's soccer post, but one week I was on my own since Kevin was at a youth campout. I was trying to be in two places at once and I massively failed. They were playing at different complexes (45 minutes apart) and since their game times were close, I told Brooke that we would need to leave her game early so that Colby would only be a little bit late to his game. To further complicate this whole scenario, I had signed up to bring snacks for Brooke's team, which is always done at the end of the game. I figured I could just leave the snacks with someone, but as the time neared for us to leave, Brooke's team was struggling. They only had one sub and the girls were SO hot and exhausted. I made the poor decision to let Brooke finish the game, quickly pass out snacks, and book it to Colby's game. As we drove away, I realized what a mistake that was because Colby was going to miss half of his game. When I told him, he was really upset and I had to hear about it for nearly the entire car ride. I understood his frustration and the "unfairness" of it all, but I also expected some grace when I was doing the very best I could to get everyone where they needed to be.
Grandma and Papa made it to Colby's game (before me, since we missed the first half), so that was a good distraction. They stayed for a few hours that afternoon and we enjoyed their visit.
When Nay Nay and Papa were in town, they were able to watch Colby play some soccer. Nay Nay went to his weeknight practice with me, which was good since she missed most of the game since she was at Brooke's volleyball game. But Papa was with me and watched the whole game.
I was pretty frustrated with Colby's coach because she wasn't subbing kids in and out, which meant that Colby sat out nearly the whole first half when his Papa was there to watch him. She had a habit of only subbing every quarter, but on this occasion, she was keeping a few of the most aggressive boys in the whole time. I made a few comments to Colby (within earshot of his coach) about him asking to sub in, but she didn't do anything. As the assistant coach walked past, my dad made a comment to him about the 3 boys that had been sitting on the sidelines for half the game. He quickly subbed Colby in, but the other two boys were still sitting there. Again, I'm grateful that she stepped up and was willing to coach, but the team was definitely lacking in effective subbing and overall strategy.
Kevin took Colby to his last soccer game (I was with Brooke at volleyball), and about 20 minutes into the game, I received a video of my boy scoring a goal. I was sad that I missed it, but I was super proud of him!
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