A Soccer Stud is Born...

Maybe it is because I played for the better part of 15 years, maybe it is because I share the same birthday as Pele, maybe it is because it is the best sport ever (although my father-in-law refuses to recognize it as a sport at all, but what does he know, he is from Idaho Falls!), or maybe it is just because Jake is such a stud, but we have had such a blast watching him fall in love with soccer. He has had a lot of firsts lately and soccer has been just as exciting as any of them. Jacob cracks me up. He wants to be the fastest and asks to spend time outside running to get faster. Hey, anything that is active outside is great! He has also met a friend, Whitney, who lives right by us---literally five houses down---who is on the team. They keep meeting to go outside and practice. Granted they get distracted looking for dinosaur fossils, but at least they attempt to practice.

I am learning that I am not a very good spectator. It is hard for me to watch my five year old running around in circles and giggling when I am so competitive. Big surprise, I know. I am learning that I need to keep reminding myself that it isn't about me, it is about him and his having fun. Man, is that hard to do when your son gets out there on game day and is so brimming with excitement that he is literally dancing on the field instead of playing. However, I do have to give Jacob a lot of credit. He is truly having fun no matter what. He listens very well to his coaches and is one of the few to not only listen to, but follow the directions during practice. It is sometimes baffling that they practice so well and then game day is such a circus. It is pretty cute to watch though.

The first week Jacob came home every day wanting to put on his jersey. He spilled chocolate milk on it, so as any good mother would do, I washed the jersey. I failed, however, to have it dry before he came home and he was very upset with me. And why is it that shinguards are near impossible to put on another human being? When all is said and done, this is turning out to be a great new experience for Jacob. He loves being active, he loves to be a big boy, and he loves to belong to a team. He looks forward to practices and games like you wouldn't believe. Maybe he has found his calling in life.....to take after his mother's athletic ability! And just so everyone knows, as competitive as I am, it is ten times worse for Bart. Thankfully we have both been able to hold our tongues on criticism and just cheer him on. After all, that is truly the most important part. Just like I told Jacob, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but as long as you do your best, that is what counts. But I can't wait for him to score a goal! Oh yeah, and Jacob gave the team their official name: The Tornadoes. GO TORNADOES!!!!

Jacob taking a practice shot before the first game....such form!

The aforementioned "dancing" on the field. It is hard to contain such excitement at only 5 years old...oh yeah, and he is also number 5, which he thinks is just perfect!Taking a break....Cousin Cooper on the left, and friend, Kevin, on the right.