Soccer Pics

Nico is still loving soccer.  He seems to really dig the "competitor" and "team" aspects of playing soccer.  

Not sure what is going on with this tongue.  

Fall sports are going again.

We have started a new session of judo. October 15-16, there is a big tournament at the Cohen brothers, which Nico is pretty excited about.  It's funny, but when he cut his leg earlier in the summer, he was considering all the different judo throws that he might or might not be able to do, given the stitches that he was going to have in his leg.  It ended up not mattering- the ER doctor said he didn't have any limitations on physical activity.  But, it was funny to me, because it shows how much the kid is learning about the sport.  

We also started soccer earlier this month.  It is pretty fantastic- because his best good friends from our old neighborhood are on the team.  Their dad (Dave G) is an assistant coach with Dave R.  So, it is pretty fun.  I am helping out by refereeing.  Like I get it, I understand that it is AYSO- so its volunteer run.  Which means that the referees are volunteers.  Its great because there is a lot less pressure than when you're refereeing games that you are getting paid for.  But still- it seems like the majority of the work done in AYSO is done by a minority of people who are involved.  

End of Soccer and Summer

Today is the penultimate day of school left in the year (Thank you Ms. Gulley for teaching me proper use of that word!).  I can't decide who is more excited: Nico because we have him signed up for a pretty sweet summer camp program with the park district or me because I can start riding my bike to work again- and I dont have to wake up at 545, snooze till 555 and then pull myself together to get Nico to school while Dave handles showering+dressing+and feeding The Nico.  Side note: My game is weak in the morning.

There is a kindergarten festival planned tomorrow- which should be lots of fun.  But I am not sure I am ready for my kid to be done with kindergarten.  Maybe I will write more about that tomorrow or this weekend... because I am kind of a mess thinking about it.  

Nico's last AYSO game of the season was this past weekend.  This season was really fun.  It was awesome watching Nico start to come into his own playing.  He loves goalkeeper so much, but he's already kind of advanced playing in the field.  He does tricks, and doesn't get caught watching the play.

He routinely scores three and four goals a game- but also plays defense (since goalkeepers aren't allowed at this age).  It has been a lot of fun watching him play.  

One of the things we are going to start working on this summer is punts and juggling.  He already tries to punt the ball- but is terrible at it.  Terrible.  My thought is, if the kid is going to do it, he should do it.  

In other news, we are filling out our summer to-do list.  There are some fun things on it (strawberry picking with Em and Nicole) and fishing in Michigan as well as some less fun things (I gotta clean up the girl cave and we need to get Nico's toys under control).  Definitely looking forward to it. 

Nico's first soccer game

So, it is that time of the year.  The weather is starting to get nice.  Not today, (it is a bit cool), but generally.  There is no snow, so I guess I shouldn't complain all that much.

I have three more class meetings before I am done with this quarter.  While this is the second time I have taught this course, it feels hard because I overhauled the course.  So, I feel like I am constantly on the grind.  Will be very glad when the quarter is over.  I, will have to start prep for a new course that I have been asked to teach in the fall.  It's on the edge of my area of interest, but I never let not knowing much about something keep me from acting like an expert.

When I went to sign Nico up for soccer two weeks ago, they asked if we might want to finish out the rest of the spring season (3-4 games left).  We said yes and got Nico signed up, so he had his first game last weekend.

Let's just say this: there were three goals scored: and Nico had a hand in two of them, and his team lost. By three.  One of the goals, he scored, straightaway.  The other he took a goal kick and kicked it to the other team.  Who then scored a goal.

In all, it was pretty fun.  They started with like 30 minutes of "practice" where they warmed up and then just did fun little games.  For some reason, this kid was OBSESSED with his jersey and with sticking his tongue out.  It is very Michael Jordan, which is cool.

What is completely crazy is how completely unprepared Dave and I were for this day.  No water coolers, no water, no chairs!  It was almost like it was amatuer hour.  ALMOST!!

I think Nico might not have really understood what was happening with the game.  And he definitely lost focus for a bit.  On throw-ins, he'd zone out along with all the other kids on the field.  So, we will have to work on that- but overall, it was a pretty fun game.  I think he is going to like playing!