First Games

Melissa and Sara both had their first soccer games of the season yesterday, and both were at 8:30 am! Good thing there’s only one place in town, where the soccer association schedules all the games.

I stayed with Sara while Greg went with Melissa, and we switched off about half way through Sara’s game. The little ones don’t play as long as the big kids. Of course I took tons of pictures… in between laughing and cheering. It was sooo funny to watch them. None of the girls on Sara’s team had ever played before (we found out that it was the 3rd season for the other team, so they were a full year ahead, and you could really tell). Our team… they would just run around the field, chasing the ball… run off the field to give mom/dad/grandparents a hug… stop and chat, and admire leaves.  They got a little confused about switching goals, so they scored for the other team a few times, but no one was keeping score anyway. They were sooo adorable, and I can’t wait for the next game. They had a blast, too. And Sara scored two goals!!!

About half way through the game, Greg came over and told me that Melissa got hurt. She took a ball to the face and had a bloody nose and split lip!!! I didn’t know if I should believe him… wouldn’t put it past him to tell me that just to freak me out, but he insisted it was true. I ran over there as fast as I could, and had to run around half the field (goodness, that field was huge!! Not “regulation” size, but still!) because the coach & team have to be on one side, and the parents on the other, to avoid arguments between parents and coaches. The parents are not allowed on the coach side of the field, although I’m not sure how strictly they enforce that. Either way, I didn’t care. They can’t tell me that I can’t check up on my child if she gets hurt (and no one said anything). I gave her a hug and made sure she was OK. She skinned her elbow, too, somehow, but she was fine and ready to get back into the game. So off I went to the parents’ side of the field, and took some pictures with the big lens. The kit lens just doesn’t cut in on that size field. Greg and Sara came over after Sara’s game ended. Not sure what the score was, but I think Melissa’s team lost 5:0.