Soccer, or Something Close to It

So this last April and May, we enrolled Gracie in tot soccer. We thought it'd be a good time to introduce her to the great big world of sports, and quite frankly, we thought she'd have a great time.

Oh man, were we in for it. I'm not quite sure why 3 year olds are part of tot soccer. You could definitely tell the difference between the 3 year olds on the field and the 4 year olds (her team consisted of 3 and 4 year olds). The 4 year olds knew which direction they were headed and to kick the ball, and more so, to kick the ball into the goal. The 3 year olds looked for the flowers to pick and friends to hug and any other kind of distraction while on the field. Most especially Grace. :) Like seriously, Grace would've won a first-place medal for giving hugs. And flirting with the boys. Even those on the other team. Heck, even those on the other fields. During game time, of course.

The first SEVERAL games happened to be held during some seriously bad weather. Snow. Sleet. Rain. The coach kept trying to schedule practices and then had to keep canceling them, until finally we were near the end of the season and a practice didn't matter anymore. Oh, and who knew, the coach and I happened to work together at the PR agency PPBH like 10 years ago. Small world.

Truly, I think Grace's favorite part of soccer was 1) the drink and treats at the end of every game, and 2) the cool "soccer shoes" she got to wear for games.

Doing some pre-game stretches.

Meeting with the coach.

An action shot, or something close to it.

A true action shot. Though where is the ball or any other players? I daresay the game was happening on the other end of the field at that moment.

Making friends during the game. :)

Thirsty girl.

Making more friends. These two were the only girls on the team. Both 3 year olds.

This is how it really went down on the field half the time. Grace and Gibson. Two peas in a pod.

This video captures the essence of it all. :)

And then this is the cute little team cheer at the end of the game...

One of like a billion attempts at a team photo. Go Team Superheroes!

Another attempt. :)

Well, at the end, though, we accomplished our goal. Grace liked "soccer," or whatever that was that we experienced, and wants to do it again next year. Personally, I think 4 years old will be a better time for Grace to really learn what soccer's all about.