A "Real" Soccer Player

Amara had her first soccer game this morning! After practice last night, she was feeling bad because she wasn't the fastest on the team (her words, not ours). We assured her that we're not the fastest either, and that it's more important to be a smart player than a fast player.

We got to the game today, and she was all about being "a real soccer player." She certainly looked the part! I'll have to find out from her exactly what it means to be a real soccer player. We told her that she IS a real soccer player, because she's part of a team and out there playing the game.

She's actually very good at dribbling the ball and keeping it close to her. Despite not being the "fastest," she listens well to the coach, and tries to do the fundamentals that she's learning correctly. And while dribbling close to herself doesn't help when the girls are all packed together as 5 year olds tend to do -- if she maintains that skill, it will definitely benefit her in the future.

She even scored a goal in today's game! I was SO happy to see that. Not because she scored, but because how big she smiled when she did! At practice on Friday, she didn't get to touch the ball a lot, and she was feeling bad about that. She would get bummed out and just follow the girls to the goal -- she'd give up. Jon and I talked and knew that we couldn't let her get disappointed with the game. So we tried to help her think smart -- to go to the goal instead of follow the ball, to not be afraid to "take it" from the other team.

The reason that goal made me so happy is because that's literally all it took for her to fall in love with the game. Not that we're all about soccer by any stretch, but it's SO good for her to get out there and exercise. She thoroughly enjoyed herself through the whole game. She enjoyed cheering her team on when it was time to sit on the sidelines. She was a good sport -- the little orange girl (out front in the pic) and Amara shared a really cute high five at half time (and no, they'd never met previously). There are just so many benefits to sports -- and it thrills me that her first experience was such a good one.

For the record, we weren't keeping score... but I'm pretty sure every little girl on our team scored. Probably the orange team, too. I think everyone had fun!