Soccer!!

Elijah got his Jersey today, which was a pleasant surprise, because we registered him late, and was told they were already ordered and he wouldn't be getting one. But it was fun to see all the little ones in their (too big) bright blue shirts! I tried to stop Elijah and get him to pose for a picture, but he didn't want to. When he finally DID stop, i got the "goofy face". 

A little bit about this ball... Elijah LOVES this ball, and no other! Well, actually, there are two like it. And he MUST have a "Black Ball" at every soccer practice. If one of the other kids grabs one first, he wrestles it away, or tries to trade. Today, that didn't work. After putting all the balls back in the net and doing some running drills, they all went back to get a ball, and the other kids got to the Black Balls first! And the kids who got "Elijah's" balls were just as determined to keep them as he was! He got upset, and came to sit next to me, refusing to play if he couldn't have "his" ball! All the other balls had green and yellow swirls on them, and they just would not do! We tried for a long time to coax him to go back on the field to play with the others. We grabbed a third type of ball, black and grey with swirls and triangles (the closest we could get!) and tried to get him to use that one. Daddy brilliantly pointed to the triangles and said, "Hey, these look a little like the Triforce. Like Link!" (Elijah LOVES Link- that was his halloween costume last year). Seeing Elijah brighten a little, i quickly jumped in, "Yeah, it does! You know, i bet this is Link's ball! Wouldn't you like to play with Link's ball??" He looked a little skeptical, but took the ball and went out to play... until that one got snatched from him ten minutes later.  Not a good day for him!
Anyway, from the beginning: Soccer practice for 3- and 4-year-olds goes like this:
First, free play while we wait for everyone to arrive...

Then, we have the team huddle...

Then we put the balls in the net and do some running drills. I love my boy, and he puts in some awesome effort (most of the time), but i'll say this now: he has a funny run...

Funny and cute now, but hopefully he grows out of it. It could get frustrating for him later on...
For one drill, we all line up on the boundary line...

 ...and listen closely while coach gives us our instructions. He is going to walk down to the other line, so we know where it is, and when he says "go", we are going to run to him. The kids are surprisingly good at paying attention, until coach walks away...

...and we get distracted.
After running, we all get a ball and do some dribbling. This is where Elijah came off the field, because someone else got his ball. He FINALLY went back on when the coach asked him if he wanted to play goalie! His FAVORITE!!

So he went in goal while the other kids took turns shooting at him. He got into a bit of a stalemate with this girl...

...Layla, who walked up to the net, dribbling the ball, then stopped when Elijah put his foot in the way. She inched closer, obviously waiting for Elijah to move out of the way so she could kick it in, and Elijah kept putting his foot in front of the ball! Meanwhile, her dad is yelling from the sidelines, "Just kick it!"
Then we put all the balls away and play a game against another team. This age group doesn't so much care about whose net the score in, or really so much about boundaries. They run where they please, chasing the ball and having a blast. It's quite fun to watch.
At the end of the game, we huddle again, put our hands together...

...and yell "Hip Hip Hooray!"

Since Elijah's coaches are moving away at the end of the week, they asked for some early team photos (since the official photos won't be taking place until monday) for them and their boy. So we gathered everyone together. Elijah and a couple of the other kids were having fun doing more "Hip Hip Hooray!"....

But eventually we got a really nice photo, though sadly missing one boy who must have left early...

I'm so glad Elijah has the opportunity to be part of a team, and get introduced to sports early. He loves it, though he loves having friends to play with more than the playing itself. But there's nothing wrong with that.