Outdoor Soccer Season Is Here!

 

Gosh, it seems like we just finished indoor soccer, and now outdoor has begun. I initially had mixed feelings about signing up for something so structured and scheduled during our summer (I'm really enjoying such a free schedule where we can wake up and do whatever we want!), but soccer is turning out to be a really good thing... again! Actually, I should be more specific and say that it's a really good thing for Ammon. He didn't know any of the kids on his team, but he has already made a friend. He also SCORED HIS FIRST GOAL!!! I wasn't there to see it (Abe's game was at the same time), but Jacob says it was quite a goal. He fired it in from an angle and the ball just shot straight to the back of the goal (a lot of the goals scored at this age level just sort of saunter their way into the general area). Ammon is getting more and more confident with each game. He has a huge smile on his face the entire time and he puts every ouce of energy he has into running all around the field. He also kicks the ball with both feet (Ammon is left handed, but he can kick a mean ball with his right foot as well!). All of this makes him a ton of fun to watch!

Abraham, on the other hand, was having a more difficult time enjoying this bout. After only his first practice, he declared that he was quitting! We convinced him that Munyers aren't quitters and that he at least had to finish the season out. We practically had to drag the poor child to his first two games and then he sat on the sidelines and whimpered and refused to play. Coach Jeremy (who coached the boys when they did Smart Start Soccer last summer) is really great with Abe. He gently but firmly got Abe out on the field and made him play (he ran back and forth chasing the ball while holding Abe's hand!). My heart was breaking as Abe constantly looked towards me to rescue him, but like the big girl that I am, I held my ground and stayed on the sidelines and just cheered him on while holding back my own tears. We finally made a breakthrough on Thursday's game. I happened to notice that Abe was chewing gum while out on the field. When he came out to rest for a while, I commented to him that the gum must have made him run fast. He grinned and explained to me that the gum also made him kick harder and see the ball better! He had absolutely no problem going to out the play for the rest of the game. I think Abe will have to chew magical gum for every game! I just hope there aren't rules against this!