Firstly, my Evelyn is always rearing to go, no matter what the sport or activity. For instance, last year she begged me to take the following: gymnastics, tap, hip hop, art, chess club, tennis, swimming, soccer, basketball, dodgeball, and volleyball. Not that she did all of this... just that she begged me to sign her up! My point? She loves to be involved and to learn new things. And I enjoyed watching Evelyn play as a part of the Jolly Ranchers this season as it was a new thing for her. She quickly picked up on the kicking, blocking, and scoring drills... but I think she found soccer to be a bit challenging in the physical aspect of it all... the constant running! She is quite coordinated, but not necessarily in shape. And I think the best part of the season was half way through when Coach Brandi asked if anyone would like to play goalie. Evelyn's hand shot right up! She was not in the slightest bit afraid! She played goalie and she was wonderful at it! She gave it her all and every game afterwards she was the goalie. I was so proud of her hard work. And as always, she made lots of cute little friends and seemed to enjoy herself throughout.
No surprise, but Dane is very different from Evelyn in many ways. He always needs a little persuasion and sometimes even coercion in order to get excited about something new. He has no long list of sports or activities he's dying to try! In fact, he's quite content shooting hoops in the backyard with Grant, or just building with his legos at home. But the amazing and wonderful thing about my sweet little son is that he is willing to try just about anything you ask him to. And almost always, he ends up loving it. So, though Dane was not chomping at the bit to play soccer on a team... he ended up not only playing very well, but also absolutely loving it. And it helped that he had a wonderful coach and a friend to play with. But truly, Dane was an amazing soccer player. He's so darned fast and very focused on the ball. For his age, those two skills help one to stand out mightily. Dane's team, The Great White Sharks, won almost every single game and had such fun playing every week. I was beyond proud of Dane's stamina and focus.
I was able to get some shots of Evelyn on the field... but sadly Dane's last game of the season was cancelled today! And get this.... because of wet fields!?! I mean... I grew up in Seattle! I don't think there was a single game I ever played that wasn't "wet" either actual down pour, sprinkling, or residual rain on the field!! Sad that I missed the chance to get some shots of Dane with his awesome coach and team-- but luckily I had my camera for one practice earlier in the season... so I'll post those pics.
