First Soccer Game!

Today was Harrison's first soccer game.  I was unsure of what to expect...if he was going to want to play, if the ball would be kicked into the wrong goal, the list goes on.  He always loves the idea of things like this, but when it comes down to actually playing something completely new, he can be a little nervous.  When we arrived, we weren't sure if we would be able to play a game because apparently 6 of the 13 kids on his team came down with a stomach bug this week!  PLEASE cross your fingers and say a prayer that we don't catch it!  Thankfully 9 kids ended up coming, so I guess a few of them were feeling better.  The coaches let the kids practice kicking the ball into the goal before the game started.  Harrison found this to be a perfect opportunity to be silly with his buddy Nathan.  The fact that we got them both to smile at the same time is a miracle!  I also have to thank Nathan's mom, Debbie for taking so many pictures for us today!!

When the game started, Harrison had to sit out, but after about 5 minutes, they called him in.  He was so excited and ran up and down the field with the team, chasing the ball...

After about 5 minutes he decided that he was a little tired...

Despite our encouraging words from the sidelines, I think he had already made up his mind...

We both made an attempt to console him and try to get him excited to go back out and play...

But no luck.  He did so well when he was out there, but I think since he didn't actually get to kick the ball, he got frustrated.  Looking back, I think we should have just let it go and should have told him that when he was ready, he could go back in.  The more we tried to convince him to play, the more he stood his ground.  We had a talk at bedtime and I let him know how proud we were of him.  He told me that he was a little afraid because he wasn't too good at soccer yet.  I told him that everyone is new and after a few more practices, he may start to change his mind and want to play more.  I feel like if we don't make it a big deal, he may come around.  I am so proud of him for trying, whether he ends up liking soccer or not!  Go team Orange Crush Cheetahs!