Soccer Boys!!

I am so proud of my boys! We all know how Will loves soccer. Today was no different. He went to his game despite having wheezing and coughing. He came, he saw, he conquered. After scoring four goals, coach pulled him out and let James play!

Way to go James!! He went in there, fought for the ball and SCORED HIS FIRST GOAL!! He was so proud! He went on to play hard and have two assits! This is a big step for him. It is very hard to be Will's brother on the soccer field, harder to be his twin! But James played hard and did very well! It was only when Will was put back on the field with him that he quit.

BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE!! After the half, when James had petered out, coach came by to talk to James. Connner was sitting there with a pair of cleats on. Conner loves to practice with the team and is itching to play. Coach looked at him and said, "I'm tempted to put him in and see what he does." I said,"He's got cleats, I'll let him." Now, this was a cold morning and all the kids we wearing jackets and mismatched sweatpants. Conner really didn't need a uniform. Also, the kids in this division are U5, under five at sign up, so most are 4 or 5. Conner is 3, but he had the height and weight on some of the other kids. Don't forget, Rooney Boys aren't really built like boys....they're Man-Cubs.

So Conner goes in for the kick off. Coach lets him have the kick. He makes the first kick and here comes the other team. Conner kicks to the side and goes with the ball. He goes through one of the other players and takes the ball and scores a goal!!! The parents on our team went nuts!! Steve and I went nuts, Will was cheering, Caitlyn was cheering, James was bouncing. Coach is laughing! Conner was grinning to split his face! We had him sit out and let James play again. James had some good scrimiages and played well until Will took the ball from him and scored a goal. We tried to encourage James as much as Will because he was working very well as a team, but he felt put out and we let him have a break.

So Conner got to go back in. The other team had the kick and Conner went right out and challenged it. He helped move the ball until it went out. He was given the throw in and threw it to his team member who took it and made a goal. And that was game!

Now my boys showed great spirit and Will was full of excitement for his brothers. They did all of this despite a player on the other team who took to pushing our boys, even when the ball was NOT in play. I gave Will the code phrase, "Be a wild man." which tells him not to worry about the other kids and lets him release his inner hounds. The other kid grabbed his shirt and Will rounded on him and shouted in his face, "STOP THAT." Now, Will has at least 20 pounds and 6 inches on this kid. He left Will alone but went after everyone else, including Conner, who pushed back and gave him "stink eye". Which is a very ugly look that the kids aren't allowed to use at us. I told all my boys that if he pushed again, they had permission to push back. I guess he took Will's hint, because he left my boys alone for the rest of the game. What irked me the most was that his coach and his parents didn't rein in his behavior.

But, enough about that! I have three wonderful soccer players who played so well today and tried their very best. I can't ask for more than that.

So we're off the Pizza Hut to celebrate!