G.O.A.L.!!!!!!!!!

Baseball is over and now soccer season has kicked off! 

Noah and Ian are playing this year.  They're both on the same team; team  "Storm"--- in case you were wondering WHO came up with the team name--- that would be yours truly, Noah.  Now if you're asking yourself how/why both boys managed to be on the same team this year, it's because I lied.  I lied and said Ian was going into Kindergarten too. The coach's wife referred to my boys as "the twins" when she was talking to me telling me about their future games.  I didn't correct her.  Is that terribly wrong???  I didn't have the urge to confess that they're in fact NOT twins and explain why I signed Ian up to be on a team with kids all 1-2 years older than him. He's BIG enough to be a Kindergartener, that's for darn sure!  Truth is, I just didn't want to have to have both boys on separate teams because ultimately that would mean I'd have to take them to two separate practices a week and attend two different games on Saturdays.  I realize in another year when Cohen is old enough to start participating in sports I won't have a choice--- he's too little to stretch his age--- I'm aware that as a mother of 5 boys, there will come a time when all I'll be doing after school is shuttling my boys to and from games and practices--- and I'm fine with eventually playing the role of "taxi driver", just not yet... my boys are still too young, and besides, it's the pits buckling all 5 of them into car seats and booster seats--- not too mention lugging around the diaper bag AND the double stroller WITH the Baby Bjorn.
Anyhow, back to soccer... the season just barely began... the boys first practice was the night we returned home from San Diego so of course we didn't make it, but we did show up three days later on a very HOT (seriously, who's responsible for scheduling soccer season during summer?! It was 90 something degrees), muggy, Saturday morning for their first game... Noah jumped right in and played just fine.  He's not quite as fast as the other kids his age and he gets tired more quickly... if you know anything about soccer, you know it involves A LOT of running. I tend to forget all of the physical challenges Noah's had to face since birth, namely due to his condition called Hypotonia.  He has low muscle tone and definitely doesn't run, climb, hop, skip or jump like other little kids his age.  It's been fun having Noah involved in so many different sports and teams, however he's at the age now in which I've noticed kids on his team or kids he plays against are beginning to get more competitive. I hate to say this, but having personally participated in a lot of team sports growing up, I do find myself occasionally getting discouraged when I realize Noah probably just won't ever be the speedy little kid out on the soccer field dribbling the ball right, and left past other players all while doing cartwheels.   I'm okay with it though; I just have to remind myself it is okay if he's NOT the star athlete on the team or even like all the other kids... I can't compare him... He's Noah and he's a superstar regardless.  I've never mentioned anything before to any of Noah's coaches about his disability...  I don't care too--- unless of course if I begin to see any sort of unfairness.  For now, I just want him to continue to have fun, NOT get discouraged, learn good sportsmanship and continue to get the exercise he needs.

Noah's tried playing goalie for the team a couple of times.  He does well, and only one ball has managed to slip past him into the goal--- he prefers to kick the ball out of the goal and refuses to use his hands.  Spencer and I keep trying to explain to him that he can use his hands to pick up the ball as the goalie but he won't; I think he's afraid of getting his hands and fingers kicked.  I can't blame him--- you should see how wild the kids are when they kick!  They'll kick at just about anything without even watching WHERE or WHAT they're kicking. 

That's Noah playing goalie with his coach beside him and the profile belongs to Ian,

who is protesting and not wanting to participate!

Ian would make a terrific soccer player--- that is IF we could get him out on the field and PLAYING!  He clams up any time he's around new people or when he's in a new environment, so he sat out on the sidelines during the first soccer game and during his second soccer game he actually DID run out onto the field, but then he didn't MOVE!  He just stood in the same place for the entire first half of the game!!!  He looked especially ridiculous when the ball was kicked TO him and he didn't even flinch!  I'm hoping he'll overcome this anxiety thing, because really, just like I said before--- he would make an awesome soccer player- he has the skills!

If Ian doesn't ever learn to get out there and play on the field, that's okay.  And if Noah never learns to pick up the ball as goalie or run quite as fast as his peers, that's okay too.  That's because there's always other sports to explore!  Baseball, swimming, golf, lacrosse, basketball, badminton, volleyball, bowling, track, archery, the list goes on and on!  I'm a firm believer in keeping my boys involved in sports--- being active is important especially when my boys are growing up with a generation of kids who prefer to just sit in front of the t.v. or play video games all day.  I'm confident they'll all find a sport they're good at and that they enjoy.  It might NOT be soccer like I may hope for (but I'm telling you- Cohen IS going to be a REALLY GREAT little soccer player- he can control the ball really well and dribble it all around our backyard quickly!) but that's okay.  And besides, it's only the beginning of the season- who knows??? Perhaps Noah will find a position on the field (maybe goalie or in defense) that he's REALLY good at or maybe/hopefully Ian will warm up to his coach and teammates and actually want to participate?!  We shall see!

The boys practicing out back with Spencer after school.  

I'm so grateful we have a yard, large enough with grass now that they can run and play on!