Keagan has a shirt that says Soccer Over Everything...and I laugh because I am sure that is how his mind works.
Anyways, from July to November our lives were soccer-soccer-soccer. Keagan started playing competitive soccer on a traveling team and then Finn played on a rec team. To say we have been busy is the understatement of the century! Here are just a few (hahaaha. right.) pictures from the past few months.
Keagan's first soccer games on the Dynamo team. He is #22 and typically played in right-back position as a defender. Looking at these pictures I feel like Keagan has changed so much in just a few short months!! These are pictures from Keagan's first game. He even had special guests!
Our sweet Dynamo team got to be ball boys for the high school soccer team. Keagan took his job crazy serious and enjoyed every minute. He loved watching the high school boys play, he loved throwing the ball in for them, he loved getting a free snack and drink from the concession stand, but his favorite part was getting to stand in line and give the players high fives as they ran by.
In August we loaded up and drove to Jackson, TN, for our first tournament! We had no idea what to expect from our boys, even though they were a very cohesive little team and played hard and worked together we had no clue the caliber of kids we would be up against. Not to mention it was 105-degrees (maybe not, but it felt every bit of it) and the boys would be playing in the heat of the day. (oh. and I should mention this was Ivy's first overnight in a hotel)
Maeci plays on the girls Dynamo team and they were at the tournament also. I snapped this picture right before the boys first game, but it was after the girls first game. Cute little friends.
When the action is slow on the defense end of things, the boys were caught flossin'!
Taking home a piece of metal!! Our little dynamite Dynamo team were tournament champions!! What a confidence booster for these boys! We are so proud of them and this really kicked off a fun season of soccer!
Finley's turn!!! When Finn started playing rec soccer in September, logistics became much more complex for practice and games...especially when Josh worked. But somehow we made it work (and I breathed a sigh of relief every night once things were settled down and we had accomplished the evening's activities). Finn really came to play this season as he moved up into an older age bracket, and showed that he is a pretty good offensive player, scoring a goal in nearly every game! We were super proud of him and thoroughly enjoyed watching out littlest boy play!
And because Ivy wore this same shirt her siblings had worn before her, I now pause the soccer post to remind you of how adorable each.and.every.baby has been in their I💗Mom shirts!
Keagan Loves Mom.
Finley Loves Mom.
Maclyn Loves Mom.
Awwwwwwwwwwwe!!! And I am crying now. Why do they have to grow so fast?! It was just yesterday our big soccer boys were babies.
Ok, back to soccer
Finn did try to be goalie during one of his games. He told me he really, really wanted to wear the gloves (he has always been an accessories kind of kid). So his coach let him wear the gloves and stand in the goalie box. And just as soon as some action came his way, Finley froze. He didn't know what to do and it was like the gloves hindered his ability to move...so the other team scored a goal. And he was pulled out and that was the last time he asked to play goalie! Haha!
Now before you go defending the number of pictures I am posting of Finley in comparison to the number of pictures Keagan has, let me say that I only took pictures when I didn't have babies in my hands. And I got a bunch of pictures sent to me from Keagan's games. And, I'm not going to lie, the action of Keagan's play is much more intense than that of Finley's team. But I thoroughly enjoyed watching both of my boys grow and learn and play this sport this season.
Keagan had a special fan at one of his games! Keag really enjoyed having Rush come watch...and we found out that he was also #22 when he played Dynamo! (Rush is my friend Paula's son...this was HUGE for Keagan)
Another Saturday, another series of soccer games. Maclyn and Ivy don't really know any different. And I am always thankful for an extra set of hands to hold a baby or keep a toddler from running out onto the field. Our soccer family is precious to me.
It is true, we soccer families sit in the hottest hot and the coldest cold (and rain) to watch our kids play. And I wouldn't have it any other way. And their siblings "get" to join in. Finn always finds someone to play with (there are lots of little brothers running around) and Maclyn eats, draws, and watches videos on our phones. Ivy does really well at the soccer games, and if it isn't freezing or raining she gets bundled up and goes right along with us!
But we have been very fortunate to be able to leave both girls when the weather just isn't good for the babies. One of our last evening games was super cold and rainy, and Tera and I joked that it was a Moms-Night-Out because we didn't have to worry about the babies and could really get into the games!
Just a couple of weekends ago, we had our last tournament to wrap up the season. I have to say it was pretty disappointing for the parents and the boys. Our boys won every single game they played against their same age division, they even won a couple of games we played against bigger boys. They went into this tournament excited and ready to play, but after the very first game morale was low. Our ref wasn't fair and wasn't calling fouls and the other team was physically pulling our kids down to the ground by their uniforms or arms or even bear-hugging them to the ground. It was rough, and it was rough to watch as a parent. In the first half of the second game, our goalie got his hand broken when a kid kept kicking the ball he had and the referee didn't stop him. We had the same ref the entire time and half of the teams we played that weekend were dirty in the way they played. So, it was a rough ending to the season. We tied 1, lost 2, and won 1.After it was said and done I asked Keagan if he had fun, and he said he did. That's all that matters. I did get some fun pictures of Keagan going up against this huge boy and getting the ball away from him. It was fun to watch his aggression improve this season!
More pics of my boy and his team during the last soccer weekend.
Freezing soccer moms!!
Nick (our goalie) obviously couldn't play on the second day of games, but he came and cheered on his team. And when Keagan was on the bench I snapped these pics of them, these boys are best buddies!
They may not have won the tournament, but they made their parents crazy proud!
Love all these pictures - you really captured the season!!
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