Spring 2014 Soccer Season

Brayden played soccer again this spring and his team won every game they played!  His good friend Brady's dad was the head coach and Matt was the assistant coach.  All of the kids except for one came from his daycare and they have been playing together for a few years now plus taking an extra soccer "class" at daycare.   They loved playing together and most of them are playing again this fall but with NCSU football, we just couldn't commit to the Saturday schedule. 

Because these boys were so good last year as well (when they were 4), the league director allowed them to play up a level so they were playing rising 1st graders instead of rising Kindergarteners.  They were smaller than most of the other teams but that didn't stop them at all!

It was interesting watching the boys play this spring.  Last year, they played "bee hive ball" where they just basically chased the ball all over the field.  This year though, even though the coach didn't encourage (or discourage) specific positions, these boys just naturally fell into certain positions.  Brayden and his friend Trey are natural defenders.  They would both be excellent goalies if the league played goalies at this age.  Their friend Zach is a natural offensive player and scored the majority of the goals for the team, although Zach was an excellent team player and passed the ball to his team mates when possible to give them a chance to score.  A few of the others fell into the mid-field and played great soccer as well! 

There is talk about moving the core group of boys from rec league next spring to a bit more competitive league where they can get some more intense teaching as well as more competition.  As long as Brayden is having fun, we will continue to let him keep playing! 

After the last game, one of the families hosted a cook out for the boys and their families.  Coach David had put together a little mini-ceremony for the boys and each boy not only got a trophy (all kids in the league got a trophy) but they had also created a certificate for each boy specific for them (i.e. Most Improved, Best Team Player, etc).  Brayden got the Sportsmanship award!