On an Island, Where We'll Meet: December 2023

Not even kidding...it feels like that! As much as I adore watching my kids play soccer, it is a loooooong sports season! Maybe because all 4 play and we are moving in 4 different directions nearly every night. The mental load of their soccer practices and games and who is going where and what color uniform they are wearing and when will they eat and what is the temperature going to be at practice/game time and are there socks clean and do you have both shin guards and cleats? is a whole lot. But it is worth it to see them smile and enjoy the game and hear them ask when their next game is.

These pictures are in overall chronological, instead of "kid," order because I don't have the energy to separate it all out. All four kids grew so much this fall soccer season.

Keagan continues to play with PVS Strikers out of Princeton, KY, which means practices are a haul but we do a lot of carpooling with a few other Marshall County friends who also play for PVS. I have seen improvement in Keagan's abilities, however he had a tough season due to extreme growth and heel pain. Despite this he worked very hard through the pain, and even tried dry needling for the pain, and learned rolling and stretching techniques until he could walk. It was painful to watch him at times, but he has gotten through it. His team took him a silver and three gold metals at their 4 tournaments this season so that made all the hard work and discomfort worth it!

Finn's soccer team had a split, coaching was inconsistent, and there were very few "friendly" games leading to poor outcomes during tournaments, and it caused a lot of growing pains for him. He struggled quite a bit and wanted to quit halfway through but this is something we don't allow. It is very pricey to play club ball and we wanted Finn to at least finish out the season. He is now playing indoor winter soccer with a new team out of Mayfield and is much happier but we don't know what Spring club ball will bring. A silver lining to all the changes is Finn was moved from a left back defensive position to left wing or center attacking mid positions, which allowed him to enjoy the scoring glory. With a strong left foot and a kick that will hurt if you get hit by the ball, he has been selected to be a corner/PK/free kicker for his team and he really enjoys that.

Maclyn came out super strong in her fall rec soccer season. She was a force to be reckoned with amongst her peers and the coach did a great job helping her learn the fundamentals that will be important when she enters club ball next fall. Like Finn, Maclyn has a super strong kick and was the corner/free kicker for her team. She scored several goals over the season. She generally does much better in a defensive position, as she tends to not hustle or pass to get the ball down the field. This was hard for me...as she tended to give up when faced with a tough team, and instead of improving with this over the fall season Mac tended to dance and skip and not really care. I kinda wanted to pull her off the field and give her an earful...but I kept it together as best as I could! If you know Maclyn, you understand this completely! She marches to the beat of her own drum and loves to get a reaction. She has a ton of potential and really enjoys soccer, but I have told her that if she wants to play club ball I'm gonna have to see some improvement in her field attitude...

Ivy is probably our most aggressive soccer player. Which is funny to see because she is tiny. Ivy's rec age group doesn't use a goalie yet and she understood the assignment: score as many as possible and then run back down the field and keep the other team from scoring. While rec ball "doesn't keep score" you better believe Ivy knew exactly what the score was in each game and how many of them were hers. Mid way through the season, Ivy's coach realized that she "got it" and started teaching her positions and passing and she did awesome with this. She didn't much love the passing part when the kid who received the ball didn't understand what was going on, but we tried to remind her that if that kid scored then her assist was just as important. I am excited to see what this next season of soccer looks like for Ivy.

Jackson, TN, tournament

Two hot and tired boys about to watch their younger brothers play

Jackson Tournament Finalists

Ivy's first practice of the season - during a heat wave so they are all a little red faced!

Brothers and Opponents (Finn was asked to guest play with the older Dynamo team against Keagan's PVS Strikers)

It isn't raining - it is just a hot August night

Finn put up a fight, but Keagan won the ball.

Keagan kicking the ball (it is a smear) into the goal

My #5 defender got himself a goal!

Mrs. Kelly came to see a couple of her middle school boys play

Finn donned Keagan's uniform one rainy Sunday afternoon and guest played with the PVS strikers since his brother had a church commitment

Finn held his own and the other boys were very welcoming.

Keagan getting dry needled...he ended up feeling like he had been shot in the calf at the tournament prior to this and not being able to walk so he consented to needles!

Tournament #2 in Hendersonville, TN

out of town tournaments = different restaurants!

Subway with the team before the Championship game

Championship game walkout and lineup

Here come our WINNERS!

Keagan and Coach Cesar

Marshall Co boys (minus Thatcher) who have played together since they were 3

Ivy's first rec game - she shocked the coach and the sideline parents with her defensive and offensive skills, sometimes in the same play

GOAL!!

Maclyn's first game and she saw her two buddies Emery and Kayden

Corner kick

Mac's big kick! Probably right to the goalie... haha!

that's a GOAL for sure!

Mac's superman came to her first game!

Ivy got to see her bestie Makenzie! (Ivy came to Mac's game straight from dance)

Two games and two practices - a true divide by 4 kind-of night! And the dog got to go to the games!

Getting some coaching before kick-off

Axel supporting his Finners by wearing his jersey (he looks like such a good boy here - but he was wild and probably won't get to go back for a while)

Ivy got to play with Makenzie during Finn's game!

Another Super Soccer Saturday!

After Maclyn and Ivy's games we high-tailed it up to Owensboro to watch the boys play in their tournament games

ran into Maeci....

and Annie....

then Aunt Jenny and Uncle Clay came to watch the boys (selfies with Aunt Jenny)

playtime at the "blue park" and Ivy ran into Makenzie!!

Owensboro Tournament Champions!!

Our two soccer boys! (Finn's team didn't make it to the championship game but we were proud of his hard work!)

Marshall boys (minus Levi this tournament)

the younger brothers!

Gamma and Poppy came to O' boo to watch the boys play, too

On our way home we stopped to help a teammate's mom who was stuck on the side of the road with a flat- I ended up with a bunch of stinky kids in the van and I wouldn't change it for the world!

The most patient coach ever

game face

Poppy surprised Ivy and came to a game!

Maylee and Ivy - a dynamic duo on the soccer field

Keagan's team had the opportunity to participate in some community service with the Build-a-Bed ministry!

After building beds they got in a game of gaga-ball...I am sure they were not competitive at all! Ha!

then lunch at Habanero - this is a phenomenal group of teenagers!

Finn's team played the Dynamo girls team and Finn had to go up against his buddy Addy Spears...she was super tough!

Coach Sam died her hair blue since the girls had won the previous game! We hope to get on Coach Sam's team again!

Maclyn's free kick - resulted in a goal!

Time for Medals!

Keagan's 4th Tournament, Finn's 2nd Tournament - Clarksville, TN (Poppy and Gamma came for a couple games and gave massages during the game)

Tuck and Finn - team mates and little brothers of Nick and Keagan - no telling what they are talking about but both are pretty critical of their big brothers and were probably formulating a soccer plan!