Happy Feet - Week 1

Last Sunday was Jackson's first foray into organized sports. We had talked it up for several weeks now, and were excited about the low-key introduction to soccer. The concept of the Happy Feet league fit what we wanted in his first organized activity: 1 practice/scrimmage per week for an hour. Each Sunday afternoon, the kids spend the first 30 minutes practicing skills, running drills and playing silly games. The last 30 minutes are spent on a 4 on 4 game versus an opposing team. Jackson's team is the Red Rockets (Ben has enjoyed making jokes about this team name for a month now). Jackson T. & Jackson P. (as they are referred to in school) really cause some confusion for the coach!






While the first half of the deal was awesome and Jackson had a blast running, kicking and playing, the second half was a different story. Let's just say that the week prior to the game, I had emphasized scoring goals and did not even prepare him for the fact that the other team would be trying to stop him from doing so. So on the first play, he got the ball and was driving for the goal when another player managed to kick the ball away from him.

M-E-L-T-D-O-W-N.

Throwing himself on the ground, kicking & screaming that, "I didn't win, I wanted to win." Talk about a team player. Ben spent the next 20 minutes trying to calm him down and convince him to get back out there and try again.



He eventually got on the field but as soon as the defensive team came within range of him, he lost it. I guess its our fault for not explaining that unlike kicking it around the backyard, the actual soccer field consists of two teams who are competing for the ball. But more importantly, this has given us an excellent opportunity to teach sportsmanship, team-mentality and that its not all about winning.

On the upside, he does look adorable in his tiny shin guards.


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