Andres' first season of YMCA soccer is now in the books. As is de rigeur now, game scores were not kept, there were no playoffs, and everybody got a trophy at a post-game picnic.
That said, his Bobcats beat the Tigers 5-3 and he had 4 goals.
This caps a pretty fun first season. Andres was clearly the most comfortable kid on the field for his team (I hesitate to say "best" in any context here, as that implies a certain level of effort and commitment to the craft at the tender age of 4; "comfort," however, reasonably describes the hours of kickabouts we've had on Turner St), and he reveled in these early morning contests. Each weekday he would ask "Daddy when do I get to play soccer again?" And when the response was "Tomorrow!" he reacted like it was the finals of the World Cup.
But again, lest any of this recap come across as a giant brag on behalf of my son, let me again clarify that I signed him up for this league with a certain wariness. He has always loved playing informal games of soccer with me, Natalia, and even his sister, where no scores are kept and everyone goes home happy. He truly loves playing. Would he still continue to carry this joy after a short season playing formal soccer with a bunch of other kids? I wasn't sure.
Naturally, I was wrong to assume that he wouldn't. And what was my ultimate plan--never sign him up for anything, and pretend that competition didn't exist? That sounds foolish. I would have unwittingly embraced the type of behavior that I decried earlier.
My perseverating now out of the way, let's look at the highlights.
Number 2 had a hot start to the game, making a commanding rush up the field and scoring after 20 seconds. He certainly has a nose (foot?) for the goal. He scored a second a few minutes later, and it was 3-1 Bobcats (or "Bobbycats," as Celia says) at the first substitution.
During his absence the Tigers scored another goal to make it 3-2. That scoreline wouldn't last long once Andres re-entered the game, as he added a third and then a fourth goal to put it out of reach. Also note the brief talking-to he receives from Coach Mark; Andres confessed that he was instructed to pass the ball a bit more. He tried to take this advice...though a successful pass requires a willing and able recipient, and some of his Bobcat teammates were a bit slow to possess the ball. Andres waited as long as he could (about 2 seconds) before racing after the ball again before the pattern was repeated.
Eventually the whistle blew and that was the season. Nobody seemed too upset that the game had ended; there was juice, pizza, and trophies waiting for them nearby.
Now it's back to street soccer for a couple months until the fall season starts. Just enough time to work on his left foot...and also on his passing.
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Such a wonderful pictorial and verbal description of, not only a sport loved by a father and son, but also of the love between that father and son! So glad to have access to your blog, Burt. happy Dad's Day to you!
ReplyDeleteYour commentary is too funny. I love the way they have to be quizzed on the direction of play. Your son is turning into C. Ronaldo, hogging the ball because no one else is deemed to be at his level! Andres is clearly way more competent on the ball, though; the fact that he can change direction and even choose to side-foot the ball is pretty impressive.
ReplyDeleteI think his ball-hogging all season has left an impression on his teammates--they no longer know what to do with the ball when it is passed to them. My favorite moments in these videos are those brief pauses in between when he passes and when he goes to collect the ball that nobody seems to want. He just knows what to do!
ReplyDeleteThere have been a couple games where he's had some good competition from kids on the other team, and that's been fun to watch. But sadly his own crew didn't give him much support (or interest) this year.