Kids soccer

Adrienne and Rhiannon's soccer season has begun, and now that they are on two different teams for the first time, it is even more chaotic than normal. Rhiannon moved up to the U8 (Under 8) league, while Adrienne remains on the U6 (Under 6) team. So that means Saturday (am games for Rhiannon), Sunday (pm practice for Adrienne), Monday (pm practice for Rhiannon) and Wednesday (pm games for Adrienne) are soccer days!

To add to the work, I coach Adrienne's U6 team (The Stars) and am assistant coach for Rhiannon's U8 team (The Galaxy). I was originally penciled in to coach U8 as well, but, probably luckily, it turned out I didn't have to. But as Rhiannon's coach is going away for 10 days in a couple of weeks, I'll get my stint as coach there too!

I love soccer. It was the sport I played all through middle and high school. We had some good junior varsity teams, but the varsity teams were generally pretty awful. Even after our JV group moved up to varsity, it was still pretty non-competitive. One year, when I was a junior in high school, we had an excellent team, and went 8-1 the first 9 games. But then one of our teammates stopped playing, as he was a hockey player first (he ended up getting drafted by the New York Rangers, so yeah, he was pretty good). Our school was too small (graduating class of about 60) to support two varsity teams, so he had to play in a league in Fitchburg, MA. Well, we went I think 1-8 after he left and there went my only chance to play in the post-season. But I loved playing, and got to play a lot of soccer.

And I really dig coaching the kids. The U6 league is coed, and we don't keep score. It's enough just to keep the little ones pointed in the right direction! I'm on the field with them, turning the around, picking them up, and in general offering as much encouragement as I can. We play 3 on 3, with little goals, no goalies, and have rolling substitutions, so everyone gets to play. It's a blast and I love doing it.

U8 is a small step towards "real" soccer. They play 5 on 5, in a half-sized field with goals that are also about half-sized. As in U6, there are real refs, but they too are just beginners, although, again, they are a step further along. There's still plenty of subs, but it has to be done on a whistle, and each team has a goalie. Again, there is no "official" score, but of course the girls (it isn't coed at this level) know the score. Rhiannon said that with only one goal scored, it wasn't very hard to keep score :)

Yesterday evening, Rhiannon's team had a pretty solid practice. They just work on some drills, like short passes, dribbling and the like. It can be hard to keep 12 girls, ages 6-8, paying attention, but we try hard and they seem to have fun. Tomorrow, I coach the Stars in their first "game", which is probably the most fun of all my soccer involvement.

Rhiannon is turning out to be a really good player. Her last season in U6, she was a real monster out there, taking control of the ball, and really trying for goals. She really began to shine towards the end of the previous season. She broke free from the usual scrum and dribbled down to score. It really perked her up! She did pretty well in her first U8 game, coming close to scoring. It'll be interesting to see how well she adapts to playing with bigger kids now.

Adrienne, on the other hand, is slowly getting into it. She started at the same time as Rhiannon, so she's still pretty young, even for the U6 league. We couldn't keep her away as she watched her big sister play. She's going to need to adapt as well, as her big sister won't be there on the pitch with her. When we had our first practice last Sunday, she did very well. There's a big group meeting in the middle at the start of the practice, where the pros that help out get all the kids together. They run around a lot, and get warmed up. Previously, she was very hesitant, not wanting to get mixed up in a big (maybe 40 kids) group like that, even if her sister was there. But this time she went right along with the rest of the team, without a complaint. They sure do grow up fast, don't they? It will be very interesting to see how she does in their first game tomorrow evening.

My soccer coaching even saved me from a ticket the other day! I was coming home and ran into some traffic, so I turn left at a light where there is a sign that says no left turn. Not really sure why it is there, but it is a well known spot for the Medford police to catch you in the act. I should've known better, and I sure regretted when I turned left right in front of a Medford police car! Well, he pulled me over and came to the door. He said,

"Seeing the hat [I was wearing my Medford Soccer Coach hat], I suppose you know where you are and what you just did?", he said very sternly.

"Yes officer," I said very contritely "I usually go down another block and turn left there, but...".

"Well, I tell you what. I'll give you two choices", the cop explained. "You can either turn around and go back into that traffic, or you can promise me you won't do it again and continue on."

I immediately agreed that I would never do it again, and thanked him for his consideration.

"Okay. I'm going to go back and listen to the Red Sox / Yankees game. Have a good night!", he said as he walked back to his car. Only his trip back was interrupted by another car making the illegal left turn. I got out of there before he changed his mind! Saved by being a local for once!

I'm going to try and get some soccer pictures up. We took a bunch last year, but with the digital camera, it should be easier this year.