Poor Puffy Piggies

Laura is rocking the center midfield, and Katie (long black ponytail) is playing left mid in the top photograph.
The bottom is Laura's sprained right ankle, and first soccer injury.

The team we played were boys. They talked about punching the girls in the face. Some of them said they were going to "wipe out" the two littlest girls on our team.
(I was worried that our delicate angels would be intimidated and traumatized by such smack-talk, but alas, I overheard the little ones cracking up laughing after the game, saying (to each other, not to the big boys!) "Thanks for saying that and making me want to beat you up even more than I already did.")
I think they'll recover emotionally.

In many years and many games of soccer, this was the first time we've encountered a team that seemed to want to hurt their opponents. And maybe I'm old-fashioned, but the fact that they were boys who were plotting to hurt girls disturbed me even more.

Playing them makes me grateful for all of the truly sportsmanlike behavior of the other kids in the area!

After the game we went to eat at our local pizza place where we're all more like family than patrons. The manager rigged up an ice bag for Laura's ankle, and we had her put her foot up while we ate.

Today's forced downtime while we've got an elevated ankle is a nice break from hectic running. (But I hope it's better by practice on Thursday.)

Soccer Friends

Here's a candid shot from a soccer Saturday of home games at Charlotte County.
My daughters have a blessed, good old-fashioned childhood.

Impressive Tournament

My three daughters were all on our Rec. team which went to a huge girls' tournament way out of our league- if you care about semantics, that is.
The teams we played yesterday were "elite travel" teams.
If we had had a chance to practice together (all 12 of us, which meant we only had one sub!) before the games, we would have been very competitive.
We played almost as well as the other teams, and we had a good time doing it. I could tell that our tough farm girls' attitudes were helping them against the dainty city girls.
Oh, and did I mention that although they were all 16 and 17 year olds, we ranged from 11-16.
Not too shabby, Charlotte County!
Here's the hotel room where we recovered between games.
Soccer's fun, but hair is important, too!

Spiders

This weekend is a big tournament in Richmond.
All three sisters are on the same team, the CCYS Spiders.
Who would dare take on these arachnids?

Monsters Inc.

This is a picture of the Charlotte County Spiders after the tournament in Richmond.
We won the first three games, and lost by one goal in the championship game.
Laura couldn't wait to get home and see herself in the photo.
When she saw it, she said she felt like Mike Wazowski in Monsters Inc., when he was looking for himself on t.v. but an ad was covering him.
Perfect analogy!
She's on our right of the coach, behind the goalie.
Our goalie got injured in the goal and went to the hospital in an ambulance.
He came back to watch the rest of the games that day. What a man!
Our whole soccer family had a great time, not even expecting to fare as well as we did against city teams with professional coaches.
Our U10 team won every game and the championship.
Our second place was hard fought and an honor for our kids and coach to have achieved.
This is a team of wonderful teenagers. Not only are they good at soccer, but they're kind, honest, hard working kids in all aspects of life. And they keep each other accountable on and off the field.
We are blessed to be part of this diverse soccer club.

I got word today that we'll be practicing indoors over the winter.
Phew, I was getting worried about how I'd spend all that extra time!

Soccer Season is Over. Long Live Soccer Season.

Here is the stellar Charlotte County U17 team.
These kids played a good tournament but ended up taking second.
On that disappointing note, the season was to be over, and we would be free to pursue exciting activities such as cleaning the house and eating dinner at a table, at dinner time no less!
But alas, more games have appeared, like zombies in a horror movie.
Becky and Laura play on Thursday and Friday evenings. Fortunately, we play teams who are good friends with ours, so it should be a good time.
Laura and Katie have games on Saturday in different places.
And Laura has a two day tournament in Richmond next weekend.
My house will never be clean again.

Evolution of a Shiner

At Saturday's game against Nottoway, Becky and rival player Tiffany collided and bumped heads.
Tiffany went down and Becky just wobbled, but a few days later it looks as though Tiffany was the winner after all.
Becky did stay in the game for 10 more minutes before being subbed out to get an ice pack.
Then she proceeded to go out for an evening on the town, then a sleep-over, then church, before finally coming home.
The first picture is Sunday evening.
Then Monday evening.
By next Saturday, she may be able to intimidate the Buckingham players into submission even before the game starts...

It's That Time of Year... Again

We rolled in late last night from the girls' practices hungry but happy. I could hear the click of cleats across the floor, and the stories and the laughter from the living room as they compared notes from each field.
These are the good years!
I'll admit I have a love/hate relationship with the sport.
This spring I coach the U6s on Mondays and Fridays. All three girls help with the coaching. Becky's team practices on Mondays and Wednesdays. Laura and Katie practice (on different fields) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Games start for Katie and me this Saturday.
So it keeps us busy.
On the other hand, we do get into a streamlined soccer season routine, which is probably good for this disorganized and lazy mom.
Since the girls adore soccer, they all cheerfully rush through school each day in order to be ready to leave at 5.
We're forced into menu planning since soccer coincides with normal dinner hours, and we need to eat the moment we return. Planning makes it more likely that we'll eat healthier, and makes dinner a more relaxed time of day than when I have the luxury of not planning, and say at around 6, "What should we have tonight?"
The crock pot would be within its rights to ask for a raise about this time of year!
We also obey Flylady much more when we're constantly under the gun! We have basic chores (with plenty of extra laundry) and we do them willingly because we've learned how quickly they can pile up if we don't. Since we often have friends coming over on the spur of the moment to eat and play (ok, so they don't "play" anymore! hang out) after practice, it's rewarding to have a clean(ish) house and dinner ready just in case.
And I have no worries about gym class for homeschool in the spring or fall!

Secret Soccer Portal

I love playing at Nottoway's field.
I always get the sensation that I'm about to enter Narnia when I go through the door in the wall.
Laura played against them on Saturday and we enjoyed fun afternoon out in the sun.

Katie's Soccer Season

Katie moved up to U12s this year and her coach said on her stat card about her: "Katie is a seasoned soccer player and the preferred starter at right defender. Provided outstanding defense all season. Improved considerably in speed, attacking the ball, and filling in gap on defense."
How her sisters sum up her season is:
Sister, "Hey Katie, what was the score?"
Katie, "15 to 0."
Sister, "Who won?"
Katie, "Umm, I'm not sure."
Katie's caoches have forgotten to pressure the kids about winning, it seems.

Laura's Championship

It's tough when you're the photographer of the family because then there are no pictures of you playing soccer.
Such is the case with Laura.
Her team also went all the way to the top of the James River District and won the Championship. However, they also happened to be undefeated all season!
Laura is also #14. She's in the back row, tallest but for the coach in her normal uniform, and with the coach's arm around her in her tournament uniform.
Laura plays defensive mid.

Becky's Championship

Here's some of Becky's season. Her team went all the way to the top of the James River District and won the championship trophy!
She plays all over the field, both in defense and as a forward.
Here she's behind the boy wearing orange. She's #14.

Too Much Soccer

It's 10 a.m. Do you know where your 5th grader is?

The big girls took over Katie's morning chores when it became apparent that she's unable to function today after a long evening of soccer and play.

Soccer Tournament

As a reward for their undefeated season, the Charlotte County Yellow Jackets got to wake up at 6 a.m. last weekend to play in a tournament.
Here's Katie with her medallion, of which she is very proud.
It turned out to be a fun weekend. The kids all played their hardest and had fun.

Katie and Jonna

Dog Soccer

Scott playing goalie.

Spring Soccer!

Two games, two wins. That's what happens when Charlotte County plays!
Katie is in yellow. It takes two boys to slow her down- and she scored a goal anyway.
Laura is in teal. Nobody gets the ball past her!

Soccer Game Day

If you enlarge the top photo, you can see Laura, #14, shaking hands at the end of an exciting game.
Katie, wearing white socks, also had an exciting game on a different field.
Today was fun for the kids and exhausting for the grown ups. Cheering takes a lot of emotional energy!