Mommy and Me Soccer

I've always said I wanted to coach little kids in soccer, but I didn't want to be Clara's first coach because I knew she wouldn't listen as well. After a coach I wasn't pleased with I decided that the only way to fix the problem would be to coach myself. I signed Sarah (without asking her) up to be my assistant coach since Clara and Kieran were going to be on the same team and she was a good sport and went along with it. She was much more organized than me and thought of things I would never have thought of. She stepped in when I had to miss the last game and I heard it was super organized! We made a great team! I also recruited Eden to play on our team and it was fun to watch the kids who have grown up together playing soccer together. We were the Gunners, after Arsenal (Jon came up with the name which was good because I had no ideas) and had an awesome season!

I think I found my next assistant coach...

Coaching four and five year olds was an experience and definitely frustrating at times. It was also super fun and I had a great time playing games with the kids and watching them grow. There were definitely some tantrums, Clara talked back to me much more than she would have to anyone else, but we also had lots of improvement, and team work. One practice involved me carrying Emmett on my back the entire time because he was devastated that Clara took a drink from his water and couldn't put it back! Clara actually played this year rather than simply pouting! I realized that she really likes defense and is better at that than offense. The highlight of the season was when the kid who was the biggest ball hog passed the ball to another kid who scored. I felt like my job was done since I had worked with them on passing all season!

There was always someone picking their nose...usually Clara

Kieran improved so much this year and was one of the best players!

When the girls were together there was always lots of talking.

All in all, it was a super fun season and I learned a ton. I envision more coaching in my future, but unfortunately they split up boys and girls in the next age group so I will have to recruit another assistant coach. We ended the season with a pizza party and it was fun to watch all the kids play together. I still see a lot of the kids when I drop Clara off at school and they are always so excited to see me. It makes me realize what a big impact a coach can have on kids and I'm so glad I had the experience!

Sometimes I felt like a shepard herding kids...

I spent a lot of time tying shoes

Gunners!

Of course Clara refused to wear her uniform to the party

The perks of coaching...awesome pictures!

Bailey also played soccer this year and Tio coached her team which also included Lyla, Jeffrey, and Eli. We got to go to a lot of their games and she was definitely more into it than Clara. She improved a lot and it was fun to watch so many of the kids play. There were always tons of spectators at the games and most of them consisted of our family and friends. The kids who weren't playing soccer played their own games on the sidelines. It made it more fun each week!