Our Family's Newest Soccer Star

Now that Aurora is a big, grown-up kindergartner, we figured it was time to let her try out an extracurricular activity of some kind. She's still a bit young for music lessons, or for after-school clubs, or for the school play. We considered dance class again for a little while (after all, she'd done it in the past and really enjoyed it). However, we finally thought she might enjoy trying out a sport instead...

...so we signed her up for soccer through one of our local clubs, USA Sports. This is the same club at which Lorelai played a few seasons so many long years ago (okay, not that long ago, but it sure feels like it!). In general, our family isn't that into organized sports, but we thought Aurora might take a liking to them. She is our most competitive kid (in everything, not just sports...she also wants to be the smartest & prettiest & most beloved sister, too! It can get a little overwhelming). She is also a surprisingly speedy girl; ever since she was little, I've admired how fast she can run (currently, she is her kindergarten class's fastest kid; she regularly beats the boys). Those qualities, I thought, would serve her in good stead if she chose to play soccer.

 

At first, that competitive spirit was almost her undoing. During her first team practice, she broke down and cried more than once when she didn't get something right (on the first try). She even threw a tiny tantrum towards the end of practice, tearfully exclaiming that she would "never 'get'" soccer. All this, after one hour of drills. Needless to say, her coach (my friend Rebecca) and I were a little worried about how she would handle things. I spent the next week explaining to her that each practice was merely a learning session, where it was okay to make mistakes and correct things. Nathan and I let her know we were happy with her progress as long as she tried her hardest each time she showed up.

 

Thankfully, she seemed to take that advice to heart, and she was a lot more relaxed going forward. We could tell she still really wanted to win, but thankfully she was able to shake off her setbacks. Not only that, but she kept improving each week; her progress was even faster than I'd thought it would be!

We were a little nervous when it was time for her first game. We weren't sure how she would take it if her team lost; Lorelai's first team suffered many losses, and it began to discourage her after a while. We also worried because Aurora's team was small (only 7 players!) and pretty inexperienced (it was the first season of soccer for all the kids).

 

But Aurora was very "professional" about the experience; she didn't let any of the pressure get to her. In a happy twist of fate, our first opponent of the season was also pretty inexperienced, so this game went as these games often do (lots of running back and forth, clustering around the ball, and losing our way, with a couple of balls "happening" to roll between the goalposts almost accidentally). When all was said and done, the teams ended up with a tie! Aurora seemed pretty pleased with that, and with her role in how the whole things went down. But she seemed very determined to do even better the next time. We really liked her spirit!

I know this is super biased, but I felt Aurora was one of the team's stronger players. She wasn't afraid to get aggressive and chase down the ball, or face the charge of an opposing player. Her long kicks were very strong, and became more so as the season progressed. While she often seemed hesitant to take the ball all the way to the opponent's goal, she was an excellent defender, blocking almost every ball that approached them. She is also quite the speedster...she regularly out-ran most of her teammates and opponents alike.

Of course, there was definitely room for improvement with Aurora's performance as well. She had a lot of trouble dribbling the ball, always preferring to kick it far ahead and thus lose control of it. Late in the season, she also became inexplicably more cautious; when she was playing defense, she would never cross the midfield line, even if she had total control of the ball and a clear shot at the goal! She would just kick it away for someone else to get. It was the kind of thing that makes a parent watching pull her hair out in frustration. However, all the kids on both teams made similar mistakes, so at least the parents were all suffering together! It's the sort of thing you come to expect from a soccer team made up of five- and six-year-olds.

 

We didn't keep close track of the team's final record (this is a league of kindergartners, after all!), but they won one or two games, lost a handful, and tied a few. It was a nice "mixed bag;" the kids learned how to respond to a variety of results. Each week, I became more impressed with how Aurora responded to the adversity (or the success). She took it all in stride, with a more mature attitude than I had expected. I liked that she saw each setback as merely an opportunity for her to improve her soccer skills and know-how. It was a great attitude for her to have!

After the final game, the parents and families of all the team members pooled their resources and made a picnic lunch for everyone. The teammates had a lot of fun eating together...

 

...plus they all got their trophies, courtesy of the Barrett-owned Abilene Awards in Aurora, Colorado! It's always nice to have family in the trophy business, so we can get them at cost!

Even though it was a lot of fun, we were all happy when the season was over (not least because the weather was starting to heat up!). I am so grateful she got to have such sweet, hard-working kids as teammates, and such a great coach in Ms. Rebecca!

 

However, I don't think we are done yet with soccer for this year; Aurora really wants to play again! So Nathan and I (possibly against our better judgment) are going to sign her up in a different (slightly more competitive) league this coming fall.

Lorelai enjoyed playing soccer for a while, and Celeste has never shown interest in it, but (to our surprise?) our "baby" girl has some real competitive fire burning inside her. Nathan and I are not super-athletic people; we aren't particularly talented at organized sports. But who knows? Maybe we ended up making at least one "sporty" daughter! It's still a little early to tell, granted...but Aurora seems more hungry for athletics than any of our other children so far. It will be interesting to see how the coming fall season plays out. But I am proud for my little girl, for throwing herself so fully into the "soccer experience" and for working so hard and having fun at the same time.