He loves, loves, loves soccer and that seems to be all he does around here...so he was excited to play real soccer! In the spring he was in a soccer class, he enjoyed it but was VERY reserved and it would take lots of coercing to basically get him to even move! By the end of the class he was doing better, but I still didn't have a clue as to how he would be once real soccer started. When that boy doesn't want to something, he is extremely stubborn and it takes a TON of work to get him to even think about changing his mind!!
Ok, back to the soccer...he had his first practice the tuesday before their first game. The kids are supposed to bring their own ball and wear their shin guards. Coach gets all the kids onto the field and they are standing out there, each one waiting for their turn to be up and do a drill. I was watching Drake and noticed that he didn't have his ball. Hmmm...look around and see that another kid has it and is running around with it. It's getting closer to Drake's turn, I holler at him asking him where his ball is, he points to the kid with it. I tell him to have the kid give him his ball back. Drake shrugs his shoulders. It's the kids turn for a drill and sure enough he just uses Drake's ball.
When it's Drake's turn the assistant coach gives him a different ball to use. The other kid is still goofing off with Drake's ball. I'm deciding I just need to go out there...I see Drake wipe his face, which is a sign that he's upset. I walk out to the field and Drake just bursts into tears! I felt sooo bad for him!! I told the kid that he needs his ball back and he hands it to him. I also told Drake to not be upset and he was fine. I was thinking he might not do much while he was out there, especially after that happened, but I was happily surprised to see him be somewhat active and even shout out an "over here!" once.
It's just soo tough with Drake because he's used to his older brother and sister ALWAYS being there for him and helping him out when he is unsure about anything...I just really want him to gain some independence and push himself when he feels awkward or unsure. I will say that he has grown a ton since last year and he's definitely more into trying new things than he was then or even a few months ago! There has for sure been progress :)
Anyway...the first soccer game!! Here's how it started out with Drake:
Ha ha! If it's hard to see...there's Drake standing there in the middle of the action with an exasperated look on his face, picking on his fingers (something I guess he inherits from me). If you have ever seen Drake play soccer at home, he is ALL about it and never stops, so this was the complete opposite of how he normally is!!He did start running around, but for a good while it was mainly in circles :) He did pick it up some and we starting seeing more of this:
In this photo he actually manages to kick his shoe off, Ha! You can see his little socked foot just hanging out:
After just about an hour the game was over. Sadly, Drake's team didn't manage to score even one goal...losing 15-0, but the kids didn't really even notice. He was first in line to give out high fives (though at first he didn't really know what was going on).
He had a blast and couldn't stop talking about the game! I was so so so proud of him and the next game he did even better :)(click on pics to see them bigger)
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