Soccer

Well, soccer has long since come and past, and here are some pictures to prove it. Although, shockingly and sadly, I apparently only documented the fact that Sareny played soccer, while in fact Sareny, Isaac, and Finley all played soccer this year. I didn't even realize this picture dilemma until this very moment.

Sareny's team was The Lightning, and our good friend Coach Pete was her coach. Finley played in the pre-K/K division, and she also had Coach Pete. Fittingly, her team was The Bolts and they wore purple. Isaac's team wore gray just like Sareny's and I think his team was called The Wolfs.

Sareny really has had a lot of fun playing soccer, and continues to get better each season she plays.

Her team was really terrible this year, and they didn't win a single game. Sad. But they still had a fun time.

Here she is just after her last game.

A last talk from Coach Pete, with Keeley running over to be a part of the team. She was rather difficult to contain at practices and games, and occasionally tried to run onto the field.

Coach Pete had long hair at the beginning of the season, and at the end of one practice, he let his team cut his hair for him. They must have done an okay job, because he sported the haircut they gave him for the rest of the season.

After the season, we gathered at the park for pictures, trophy's, and ice cream. Although in lieu of an actual trophy this year, they got dog tags. Not as cool in my opinion, but oh well.

As far as the other kids go, Finley turned out to be quite the soccer player, frequently scoring one or more goals in a game. In one particular game, she scored 5 goals! After her 5th, we encouraged her to pass the ball to other players on her team. This was all particularly shocking considering how she played last year...if she agreed to go out on the field at all, she was usually just chatting with her friend Sydney, oblivious to the game going on around her. This year--she was a force to be reckoned with! Yay Finley!

Isaac also did well in soccer. I missed the game where he scored 2 goals, since I was home recovering, but it sounded really exciting. He was always quick to point out that he only scored his second goal because his friend David made a really great pass to him. I let his parent's know that Isaac recognized and appreciated the assist.

It is always kind of bittersweet to come to the end of soccer season. The kids love playing, and I love watching them, I usually enjoy chatting with other parents at practice, and depending on the practice location, the non-practicing kids usually get to play at the park with friends. On the other hand, we were so very busy. Somebody had practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and then our Saturday mornings were spent at games. So I think this year, it was less of the bitter and more of the sweet at the end of it all. :)

Baseball Season

Isaac decided to try out baseball this year, and played on a combo T-ball/Coach pitch team. They were the Cubs, and their team banner was so cute!

 These pictures where he is wearing a red helmet are from his first game of the season.

 He was so funny and kept putting his hat on backwards while he was in the dugout.

 Here is cute little Keeley.

In this division, the coach pitched several times to each batter, and then would get out the tee if they couldn't hit one of the pitches. In his first game, Isaac had to use the tee to hit.

Nobody gets out in this division--they just go down the batting order and each kid gets to hit. Isaac was what they call the "homerun hitter," meaning he was up to bat last and was supposed to run around all the bases after he hit the ball.

 Somehow, he got it into his head that he was supposed to slide into homeplate, and he did it everytime.

 Here he is in the outfield.

 And batting again.

 There are a couple of kids in the way, but you can see him sliding in the above picture.

Here he is with his coach, Tiffany C. She was super patient and good with the kids.

 After that first game, we bought Isaac his own helmet, and here he is at bat in his last game.

From about halfway through the season, he started hitting off the pitch everytime and didn't need the tee anymore. I was super impressed!

It was so fun to see how much he improved, and how much fun he was having.

Here is a picture of his whole team. They all did so great, and I actually really enjoyed watching them play.

And a proud boy with his trophy. Way to go Isaac!

Basketball

Isaac and Sareny played in the Estrella Youth Sports basketball league this winter, and it was a lot of fun.

Isaac had several friends on the team, including David D. and Hone W., and he was coached by Hone's dad.

He learned some new skills and really enjoyed playing. In his division, the kids wore color-coded wristbands so they would know who they were guarding on the opposing team.

I am drawing a blank at his team name right now, and he is up in bed sleeping so I can't ask him. :) But they wore black. This is several days later now, and Isaac reminded me that his team was named the Black Wolves.

Sareny's team wore black as well, and they were The Creepers. (like from Minecraft, as opposed to, well, a creeper like you might be thinking.)

She didn't know anyone on her team at all before the season started, but she didn't care and had a fun season. The 3rd/4rth grade division plays with a regular girl's basketball and with a regulation height rim, so it was a bit difficult for her, and for most of the kids on her team.

The most exciting point in the season was the game that she made a basket--we were all so proud! She really did great and improved a lot over the season.

Soccer!

The three older kids all played soccer this year, and they had so much fun! Sareny was so excited to have her tia Lexi volunteer to be her coach this year. That was pretty cool. Sareny wore number two this year.

Their team was navy blue and they were The Pirates. One of the (few) perks of being the coach--you get to pick the team name!

 Grammy Jo and Bampa took the above and below pictures when they were here. Sareny breezes by the sinister black team, and with Lexi after the game.

Sareny's best friend Emily was on the team for the first half of the season, and then she moved away. Sareny still had a lot of fun playing--she worked really hard and improved each week. Below is her and teammates Drew H. and Mason R.

Here she is lined up with Bryce J. and Dillon P. to play offense, her favorite, with Drew on D.

I really enjoyed watching her games this year--they were rather intense sometimes! It was a lot of fun to watch the players all get better.

The huddle after their last game.

I lined everyone up for a picture. Left to right: Dillon, Diego, Nathan, Bryce, Sareny, Drew, Mason, Lexi. Not pictured: Jacob H., Dorian B., and Emily, who had obviously moved.

Some of the boys started doing silly/teen model poses.

Our allstar!

Isaac and Finley played on the same team this year in the prek/k division. Their games ranged from being fun to watch, to being boring, to being frustrating. That age would be so hard to coach! The very first play of the very first game, Isaac drove the ball down for a goal.

That was pretty exciting! He was quite proud, and his coach, my friend Bridgette J., gave him five.

Isaac definitely played a lot better this year than he did last year. When he was trying and paying attention, he did pretty good.

Here is Chase G., Isaac, and Finley lined up for a kickoff. This year, Isaac wore number three and Finley wore number five.

This first game, Finley didn't actually do too bad. She mostly paid attention and was at least running after the ball. As the season went on, that was not always the case.

Here she is with teammates Kade C., Will., Sydney J., and Chase, and she is actually kicking the ball.

These are from the last game of the season. She wanted to wear sunglasses that game. I was pretty proud of her for stepping up this game and trying a little harder than she had been.

Isaac fighting for the ball. He scored at least one goal every game except for one. Near the end of the season, his asthma started acting up, and he sometimes had a hard time breathing.

This was Finley's best play of the season, she actually dribbled the ball down the field a ways. Pay no attention to the fact that she is slightly out of bounds--that's perfectly allowable in their league!

Isaac gets a high five after scoring another goal.

And the end of the season huddle and cheer for the other team.

Learning about sportsmanship by shaking the other team's hands. Their team name was The Speedy Wolves, which I thought was pretty cute. The funniest team name we encountered was The Tigerlions. Pretty clever.

The team: Finley, Oscar, Isaac, Will, Chase, Sydney. Not pictured was Kade.

My two soccer girls.

 Three soccer all-stars! Next year Isaac will be moving up a division, so his games should be more exciting to watch. I expect that Finley will play more like I know she can more often. Sareny will be in the same division again, and she really was fun to watch. And hopefully Lexi can return to be Sareny's coach again--that would be awesome!