First Soccer Game!

Last night was a very big night! We had soccer pictures and our very first game. Yes...I wore black and white to support our Zebras:

 Issa was super excited to cheer on her little brother, too:

 Please notice the animal print.

 

After pictures, we headed over to the field and had a little pregame warm up. They lined the kids up and had them each take two practice shots into the goal that would be the one they should try to score in during the game (Evan nailed both of his), and they don't switch goals at the half. It's brilliant! They also put one of our coaches near our goal so the kids know to run towards her. Right before the game we had a little huddle:

 This was our coach's first game--ever. She brought a friend (the other lady in the white shirt) who was a veteran, though, and after about five minutes our coach found the groove.

 

**A small aside: I love this league. Please notice the extra moms in the picture above. About two minutes after I snapped this picture, another dad wandered over and politely suggested they sit down and let the coach coach and the kids play. They weren't really happy, but they did, and it was important that they did. It's league policy, and the kids all relaxed a bit more with a few less opinions at the bench. Also, the team we played against had a veteran coach--like this is his 30th year coaching. He coached all of his kids and has kept coaching because he loves it. He coached our coach and our kids, too. One of his players fell apart on the field, so he carried him. You don't leave the field, but you can be loved. It's what U6 soccer should be.**

 

Look at our man in action:

They rotate kids in and out, but check out this game face from the bench:

A herd of Zebras:

We lost the game 6-4, but the kids didn't care. They had a blast. They even did the high five lines:

It only took us three minutes to get lined up for that, too.

The video is having a little trouble, but here are a few.

Our opening debacle:

Um...now what do we do?

And my personal favorite, in which Evan loses a shoe, we play the ball up the hill and onto another field, and eventually score:

 

The night was great, and I was so proud of our little Zebra. He played his heart out. At one point, he went down hard. I grabbed the arm of my chair, but he hopped right back up and ran after the ball. One of his little friends went down hard and landed on his ear, and when he got to the bench Evan patted his back and told him he would be okay. Between plays, Evan would clap his little hands and yell, "Let's go, Zebras!" He may not have scored a single goal, but in my eyes he was MVP.