Halen & Soccer FUN!

Halen played her first soccer game this year last Saturday and not only did she have a blast, so did her mother, her uncle Corbin, and her cousin Niki. Niki are on the same team and Corbin is their coach. I asked Corbin before the game if he was having fun and he replied, "Sure." He wasn't very enthusiastic because he had been doing all the logistics of getting the team put together, practices, etc. and hadn't really had any FUN yet, but after the game his answer was completely different as he walked over to me and said, "Wow! That was fun!" to which I agreed!

Niki was amazing. She scored at least 4 goals and was such a power house when she wanted to be. It's fun to watch the kids give it their all and then be just pooped and want to sit on the side lines after only a few minutes of running. There are 4 time periods each 10 minutes long and surprisingly, it's a long 10 minutes.

Halen sat out the first session and then when it was her turn to go in she was quite nervous, as is Halen's first inclination with anything. She went out there and after 4 or 5 minutes came out due to an injury, she was kicked in the leg. After asking her how she was doing she started crying in frustration because the "girls were pushing her" and she didn't like it. I had to explain the aggressive nature of soccer and that she just needed to tough it out. She said she would try it again and the next session was amazingly different. As soon as she gets her confidence in check, she's a real determined little girl. She started working her way through the pack and finding that ball as shown here:

She surprised even me with her determination and focus on the ball. I figured she'd do all right and have fun, but I had no idea she had such focus. She not only played excellent on offense, but was one of the only girls to return with the ball and opposing players on defense. She even scored a goal and assisted another one.

It was so much fun to watch her enjoy herself and play so well. I don't know about her, but Corbin and I can't wait for the next game!