Soccer Girl

Olivia had such a great season playing soccer. She played when she was four but really hasn't been involved with it since then. She took a hiatus and explored her dancing roots... which we discovered she really doesn't possess! Ha! No surprise if you know her mother (Jill you can refrain from commenting on this point)

As soon as the season started this Fall, she was on fire. She gave every game her all and became her team's top scorer and top offensive player.

Now, having said that... if you have been to a soccer game with 7-8 yr old girls lately, you'll realize that girls this age are not very aggressive and typically do not play offense at all. So I'm not trying to say that my daughter is some kind of soccer prodigy. If you're lucky, one or two girls at this age are starting to "get it".  The rest of the crowd just comes along for the ride.

So, despite the total lack of parental supervision and training, Olivia seemed to pick up on the game this season and did really well. Her coach (who also coaches 12-13 yr old boys- YIKES!) picked up on this fact pretty quickly and put all his energy into Olivia and guiding her to score goals.

I felt a little embarassed actually. It got to the point that every single throw-in, every single kick-off, every penalty kick was directed to Olivia. If she happened to NOT be the one throwing the ball from the sidelines, her coach would say, "Throw it to Olivia!" Hee hee. Of course we're proud that she was doing well at the game, but I know if I was one of the other parents I would be pretty irritated. This is city league and all kids should have the chance to play and get the same attention.

This was Olivia's last goal of the season. Austin took this photo just in time- I almost missed it!

Here she is, ready to kick off. I think she's having a conversation with the teenaged referee. Not sure what kind of exchange that was...

Sibling cheering squad- Ashley

Another kick off!

The rest of the sibling cheering squad- Austin's self portrait. (Braces come off in about a month, by the way)

We had a great Fall season with fabulous weather! There was only one rainy game and the rest were gorgeous. We love the area where we live- there couldn't be a better backdrop, especially in Fall.

Olivia asked if she can play indoor this winter, but I think we'll have a break before the Spring season starts. I'm almost as excited as she is!