Soccer

So we always said we wouldn't put Jack into any organized sports until he turned 5, but the opportunity presented itself for him to participate in soccer this year.  He has pretty limited contact with other kids his age these days (except for church and preschool time with C), so this was a great way to give him some peer interaction and get some exercise.

During the first week the team was lining up to give Coach John high fives.  This picture just cracked me up, especially the girls!  The one with her hands on her face is the coach's daughter.  The other two gals, near Jack, are serious ball players and don't mess around.  Jack was wanting to show Coach John his number - #9!

Coach John & Coach Terry (our neighbor & friend - pictured above) have done a fantastic job and have gotten lots of exercise themselves.  They spend the majority of the playing time running after rogue players who have inadvertently exited the field with the ball and proceeded to join another game going on adjacent to our field.

Terry's son, Carson, is small in stature but he makes up for it in speed and skills.  He is our leading scorer and appears to be loving every minute of every game!

The kids play 4-on-4 with 6 minute periods. There are three 6 min periods, a 5 min halftime, and 3 more 6 min periods. 6 minutes doesn't seem like very long to me, but Jack thinks it is an eternity. I think this was the same day he said "I had to play for a long time...at least an hour, Mom!"

One of Jack's favorite parts so far is taking a break.  He loves to come to the side and drink from his water bottle.  This past week he even volunteered to be the first one to take a break. Maybe this means he needs a little more exercise during the week......

Sometimes Jack even takes a break on the field!  He has spent some quality time laying on the grass during each game.  Luckily here he was just taking a "short break" and didn't get squashed by the other players.