Katie's First Soccer Game

So, today, Saturday, March 31st of the year 2012, marks the beginning of our sports odyssey. Today, was Katie Belle's first soccer game with the Plant City Parks and Recreation organization at the Otis M. Andrews sports complex. This will be the second generation of Crosbys to step onto the fields of this facility... and we're ready to tear it up! Or so I thought.



Our first game started off with pictures. Yay! Pictures! Right? Wrong. All of the four year old children were nervous and bewildered by all of the commotion; not to mention, all of the new faces. Needless to say, I'm not setting the bar high for the pictures we will be receiving from Sports Photo, Inc. One good thing that came out of the pictures was that Kaitlyn forged a friendship with a little girl from her team. We hadn't brought Katie's hot pink ball with us, because I thought for sure they would be supplying a ball for the game, but I didn't think about the pictures. All of the players were using their own balls in their photos. Katie immediately started to panic that we didn't have her ball, and I assured her we could borrow someone's ball. I quickly looked around and saw a purple one being held by a little girl on our team. Bingo! "Hello, I'm Rachel Crosby. This is Katie? Can we borrow your ball for a picture?" The sweet little Elisabeth allowed us to borrow her ball, and once we returned it, a bond had been formed. Kaitlyn and Elisabeth decided to hold hands while being organized for the team pictures. They held hands during the beginning of the game. They sat next to each other during breaks. They ran next to each other while chasing the ball during the second half. And Elisabeth couldn't leave without making sure to say good-bye at the end of the day. They were cute.

Anyway, after pictures we had to trudge over to our designated field. Jake then told me that Zac had pointed to the nearby wilderness and said, "Mons." (In Zac language, this means "monsters".) "No, mons." Jake told Zac, to which Zac replied, "Mons, live dere." So, Zac held hands while we walked past, and kept a look out to make sure no "mons" would be unexpectedly dropping by.

We had a slow start to the game, which I am sure is completely typical. It was funny... as was most of the game.

(Tried inserting video here, but it wouldn't upload to blogger!)

Jake went and talked to Katie about chasing after the ball, and not holding hands with Elisabeth while being on the field. There is no audio, but who needs audio for a meltdown?

Good times.

While Katie was melting down on the field, our Coach came along (he's really nice) and asked if she wanted to go sit on the bench, she took him up on his offer. She calmed down, and started to watch the game while glowering.

Then they got Capri Suns during a break. I could tell she was thinking, "This isn't so bad."

Once Katie got back in the game, she ran around with the rest of the herd of children, chasing the ball with a big smile on her face. She even got it at one point, and ran while kicking it in the correct direction! She didn't score a goal, but it got her more excited about playing.

Then they had half-time, with goldfish crackers for a snack! You can tell she is totally feeling comfortable with the situation at this point. Her arm is over the back of the bench, checking out what is happening on the field next to us, sitting next to Elisabeth... she's good.

The rest of the game played out well, with this guy below scoring most of the goals. Luckily, he is on our team. His name is DJ and I'm guessing his Mom and Aunt played when they were younger because at the end of the game his Aunt was attempting to school him, but he kept up with her.

Once we were done, there were lots of hugs for Grammie, and big smiles because is was fun!

And, of course, we can't forget about the "mons". Zac couldn't walk himself back to the car due to the fear. He insisted on Daddy carrying him. Grammie even walked over and through the woods to show him there were no "mons". He was not havin' it.

Well, that's all for now folks! The next game is in two weeks! Fingers crossed we don't have to keep yelling, "Don't use your hands!" and "The other way! Go the other way!"