We weren't sure exactly how Lleyton was going to handle his first game, as his attention span is less than that of a gnat. With that, his time on the sidelines was a bit of a chore. He isn't one of those kids that is ready to sit and watch his teammates execute the gameplan when he is on the sidelines. It is more of Sara and I chasing him, keeping him from running on the field, untangling him from the web that he has tangled himself in within the nearest unused goal, running him to the potty, and so on.
The days of sitting on the sidelines and leisurely watching either boys soccer game are in the distant future. But both games were enjoyable nonetheless.
Parker's game kicked off at 9am, which meant I was awakened at 6 by Park asking if he could put his shin guards on. The temperature was hovering around freezing and the pitch was a huge mud puddle disguised as a soccer field. Park's team was outplayed from the word go, but that didn't faze him for a minute. He stuck out his chest and played his heart out. He was especially effective during his time in goal. He showed an aggressive and might I say tough side that we didn't really know existed. With the other team being far superior, he got alot of work while in goal, but he really handled the pressure well, highlighted by a ball he took squarely in the face before securing it and clearing the zone.
Here is a shot of another very good save.
I'm not sure who got muddier during Parker's game, Lleyton or Parker. The little man is like some sort of magnet for mud puddles. The mud, accompanied by the cold temperatures, forced him to the car with Sara during the 4th quarter. They didn't miss much, as Parker spent the last few minutes of the game on the sidelines.
Parker's #1 fan before he realized how muddy he could possibly get.
Parker had quite a nice cheering section consisting of Sara, Lleyton and myself, Pop, and three of his daycare teachers came out to support our Park as well. Thanks to Josie, Rachel, and Allison for being so good to our big man.
Here is the man himself after the titanic struggle. Obviously he took the loss very hard.
Lleyton's soccer schedule started at 2:30 with a quick practice that was followed by a 3 o'clock game. He didn't really grasp the concept of the game, as he spent almost his entire time while on the field shadowing his coach. When I say shadowing, I mean shadowing. At one point the ball came rolling near the two of them and the coach scurried to get out of the way, Lleyton did the same. Wherever the coach ran, Lleyton ran. He could have ran to his car to grab something and Lleyton would have been in his back pocket. Once we got the point across that he should go after the ball, he got a couple good kicks in and turned to us with his arms raised high in the air as if he had just kicked a game winning goal. It was very cute.
Pictures from Lleyton's much anticipated debut:
So Day 1 as a soccer dad is under my belt.
Was it relaxing? Far from it.
Was it enjoyable? At times.
Are we looking forward to doing it again next week? Absolutely.
You might think the boys would have been exhausted after such a day...wrong. They were bouncing off the walls this evening, but we did get them settled down (distracted) enough for us to be able to intently watch the Butler Bulldogs advance to the Final Four. Actually, Parker watched the game with us while Lleyton occupied himself in the playroom, making us cookies and stews in his kitchen while watching Toy Story.
Here are the boys wrapping up their very busy day by laying on the couch watching Parker's beloved Cats.
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