Soccer Season Has Begun

Last Saturday was opening day for soccer this year. Bella moved up to the U10 division, which is a whole new level of soccer play. Not only is the field larger, but the girls play with goalies now. There are also two line refs and they now make calls that they never learned in the lower divisions. It's pretty exciting... feels like the big time now! 

Bella played the first half as goalie. Here she is ready for the game to start: 

She didn't have much action during her half. The ball only made it near the goal a few times.

Then for the last quarter Bella was able to play on the field. She got the ball some:

At the same time that Bella was playing her game, Jacob was having his very first game of U5 soccer clear on the other side of the complex (it is a rather large set of fields). I was sad to miss his first game, but thankful that Jake and Addie were there to cheer him on. Right at the start of the game, Jacob got the ball and took it down for a goal. Jake said it took maybe 10 seconds. He wasn't ready with the camera yet so he was only able to snap a photo of Jacob's celebration after the goal:

Apparently, Jacob has no apprehension on the field, and had a very good first game. Jake stopped counting the goals after six. With 4 year olds playing 3-on-3 with no goalies, it's all a matter of getting the ball and keeping control from/outrunning the other team. I guess Jacob is a natural!

Here's to what I hope is an awesome soccer season!