Soccer for Two


Until about a month ago, I had never owned a soccer ball. I thought bowling balls were the only sports balls that had "sizes". I had never laid eyes on soccer shin guards, either. Catcher shin guards, yes. Soccer, no. I even had a short stint wearing catcher shin guards in high school until my coach found out I could stretch a mile to catch a bad throw to first base. (This skill developed early by being willfully determined to catch EVERY “bet you can’t catch this” throw my brother would whirl at me.) I had no idea shin guards were part of a soccer uniform and that EACH player had to wear them. Growing up in my Southern small town, we were all about baseball and football. "Pee Wee" they called it. As a business owner, you might as well have closed your doors for good if you didn’t sponsor a team. This meant paying for the kids’ uniforms which would have your businesses’ name splattered across the front making sure everyone knew you had done your part and that it was okay to keep trading with you. Soccer was for the “city folk” --anyone who lived north of us. It just wasn’t on our radar. When I moved to Fort Worth and made my way to Benbrook one Saturday morning, I found out more kids played soccer than were in my entire elementary school! Fifteen years later, we purchased our first soccer balls (one pink, one blue) and shin guards.

So, here they are playing for the Timbers and the Expos in Upward Soccer sponsored by our church, Alliance Community Fellowship. Since Jeff coached B's T-ball team, he opted to coach Julia's soccer team which significantly boosted her confidence playing her first organized sport. Brighton is as focused and determined as he was in T-ball. The pictures say it all. Every expression I have captured screams "intensity". He is completely offended if you yell to remind him which goal is his and will fight to the death to get a chance at the ball. Julia? Well, she looks adorable in her knee socks.



One more thing-- there is something very wrong, bordering on scandalous, about a soccer game at 8 am on Saturday morning. I haven’t found grounds for protesting it yet, but I will not give up looking.

Comments

Alyssa said…
Surely they can't continue 8 a.m. Saturday games after daylight savings time kicks in next month. After all, they'd have to pay to put lights on the field. Try that angle! Love that Julia plays with a bow in her hair; very girly!
Dondra said…
Love this post and have to agree with you about the 8:00am games! :)
Tori said…
8:00 a.m.??? Wow. I don't know that I could do that! So do they play in Benbrook? Those fields are just a few blocks from our house, and we always see crowds of little soccer players on our way to the YMCA on Saturdays. Looks like they both enjoy it a lot! Julia has lots of good things to say about playing soccer!
Anonymous said…
Love the pictures!!! Love the fact that Big B is so into it. Looks like JK is too. 8 am is way better than Sat afternoon, trust me. Enjoyed State fair pix and can't wait to see you! EMAIL more pix luv bsd
Lynda Meyers said…
LOVE the new look of your blog - however did you do that??!! Are you willing to share your secret?

Anyway, I just loved this post - I played soccer for over 10 years and coached my daughters for a couple of years as well. Soccer is a great sport - but I agree, an eight o'clock game (since you have to be there much earlier than that to warm up) is not a great way to keep families involved!!
Raechelle Ivy said…
You are the BEST photographer!!!!!
Holden had his first baseball game on Saturday! It was fun to watch!!! I will post a couple of pictures soon, but they won't hold a candle to yours.
Renae said…
Hi Krista! I LOVE your blog! And I can totally relate to your aversion to 8 a.m. soccer games. The only thing worse, for us, was 2 p.m. softball games.

In July.

In Texas.

That's just wrong.

Blessings to you!

--renae
Shannon said…
Well, look at Julia holding her own among all those boys! Good for her! Great pictures - especially that last one of Brighton!
Sarah said…
great photos as usual, krista! julia does look great in her uniform, and brighton already looks like a professional athlete!

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