The kids are all playing soccer, with Jackson and Lauren on organized teams and Lachlan joining their teams when he can sneak onto the field or playing blissfully on his own team. He’ll back up from the ball with a sneaky look on his face, pause dramatically, then run and kick the ball. He'll keep running and kicking until he falls over or the ball lands near a stranger. If he misses the ball or kicks it sideways he’ll simply turn around and come kick it the other direction so he generally doesn’t get too far away. If he starts to wander I run and kick it back—he loves the competition.
Jackson’s long hair held back under a headband elastic makes him look like an International soccer star. His team did manage to win one game when the other team forfeited. Jackson is doing well, enjoys being with the kids on his team, and has improved immensely. He is very excited that they have goalies finally (still a smaller field with a 7 v 7 format) and gladly takes his turn in practice. In games he started off as a defender but transitioned to mid where he did much better. At the medal ceremony his coaches pointed out how amazed they were at how much he has improved and the fact that he was able to keep all the hair out of his face.
Lauren was quite happy to have a team of all girls as she was the only girl on the team last year. She is learning the terminology, like "out of balance" (out of bounds) and asking what team they are battling.
She started off the season with a fit. She managed to leave her uniform shirt behind inspite of having had it in her hand at the front door. Jackson's game was first and we called Simon to bring the shirt. However, between poor cell phone coverage and unexpected road construction he ran a bit behind and the game started before the shirt arrived. Lauren did NOT want to have everyone staring at her because her shirt was different. I had to go around to all the parents and explain the situation before she would agree to play. Luckily, Simon arrived with the shirt just before it was her turn to go in. Now she rarely takes off her soccer shirt.
Once she got her shirt Lauren became a dominant force on the field. If she doesn’t have the ball she finds it and drives it to the goal, usually weaving around people but occasionally going through them. She hasn’t learned to pace herself—if the ball is there she goes—and ends up exhausted on the sideline when it is her turn to come out. In between gulps of water she exclaimed with feeling, “Imagine scoring 3 goals and being burning hot!”. At her trophy ceremony the coach called Lauren her "Little Mia Hamm". She didn't really know what that meant but was embarrassed by the attention. She threw back her head and gave an embarrassed little yelp before bolting back to her seat.
Its fun to see the kids progress. If only Simon and I could find the time to get out and play soccer...
