Kenzi's first season in soccer

What a wonderful season we had. Mackenzi really enjoyed playing soccer and getting to know her teammates. Coach Eric was a wonderful coach, and we look forward to next season with the Mermaids. Unfortunately once I got pregnant, and couldn't do anything but sleep, with this first trimester, I didn't maintain Kenzi's blog for her games. I was keeping track of the wins and losses, and then the last three games, I didn't write down on my list. I have the information, but will have to search it out.

The girls had an "end of the season" party at Alyson's house. Coach Eric arranged for a Mermaid cake, and each of the girls received a "Little Mermaid" figurine off the cake. They also got a gift bag with an Ariel cell phone, and a few other Mermaid type gifts. The girls had so much fun playing together. They received their trophies from Coach Eric for the season, and he even had an additional trophy for each of the girls with something special engraved on them. Kenzi's was from her first two goals that she scored in the season on September 8th.

I'll continue blogging with information about their tournament they had on November 17th. They won two games and tied one game. It was a fun day. Kenzi had quite the crew on the sidelines - with Nana, Papa, Connor, Trevor, Aunt Kari, and her cousin Gary all there rooting her on! Of course Brian and I were there as well. Vannetta even came to her last game. It was a lot of fun. Kenzi played really well and so did the other girls.

Can't win 'em all! Mermaids 3 -- Kickers 9 (10.13.07)

Well, even though the game was not a winning game, Mackenzi played her heart out. She scored 2 of the 3 goals that her team made on Saturday. She also is learning more and more how to keep the other team from scoring. When she is playing defense, and the other team is heading to the goal with the ball, Kenzi is learning to either get in front of them and try to kick the ball off to the side, or to just run alongside them and try to kick to ball away. Her team is really learning to be excited when they score a point. In the beginning of the season, one of them would score and the rest of the team wasn't sure how to be excited for their team as a whole. Here is a picture that Nana got of the girls giving each other a high five. I believe Olivia was able to get the ball in a position where Mackenzi could score this time! Nana was still in town and so we got a ton of pictures from the game! Usually I'm busy videotaping the game, and it's difficult to take digital pictures at the same time, so that's why the pictures come mostly from practices or Friday Night Lights. Daddy didn't get to make the game because he was still not feeling well, but he did call about halftime to check on how things were going! Nana was able to capture a picture of Mackenzi after she just kicked the ball in the goal and scored for her team!

Friday Night Lights

We had the opportunity to go to Friday Night Lights again this past week. The great part was that even though Daddy was at home healing from having his wisdom teeth taken out, Nana was in town! Mackenzi was very excited to show Nana what Friday Night Lights is all about, now that she likes it, that is! She was surprised that two of her teammates from the Mermaids, Olivia and Ariel came and played. Her coach, Coach Eric was there as well. In this short time of being on the Mermaids, it amazes me at how much the girls really enjoy playing together. When we arrive at practices or games, the girls are giving each other hugs and are happy to see one another and when it's time to go, Kenzi will run back to the field to give her teammate a hug goodbye. She really enjoys the friendships that she has created this season.

Here's a couple of sweet pictures of Mackenzi from that evening. . .

Mermaids 8 -- Bluebonnets 4 (10/6/07)

What a great game on Saturday! Mackenzi was so excited - we had plans for some family to come see her game and then celebrate Brian's birthday afterwards. Unfortunately the highway was closed for Memaw and Pepaw (they did eventually find another route - but didn't make the game) but Aunt Sara and Uncle Phillip made it! Kenzi was a little bit shy about getting out there and showing them all she's got - but she still did play a great game. She scored two goals this game!

The Mermaids were definitely dominating the game. . .when one team is ahead by 4 or more points, the other team is allowed to add an additional player to the field. Up to this point, the other teams we've played have been able to add players - but the Mermaids have remained consistent with just their 3 on the field at a time. Once the Bluebonnets were able to add another player, they were able to begin scoring on the Mermaids. A few goals might have slipped by Kenzi when she was being shy paying attention to Uncle Phillip on the sidelines! Nonetheless, it was a great game, and the girls had a lot of fun!
Memaw and Pepaw made it to the house and we went to dinner with them for Brian's birthday. We had a great time, and Kenzi got to play a little more soccer in the backyard with Aunt Sara and Uncle Phillip. She was definitely not shy then! (It won't let me post pictures, but I will try again later!)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mermaids 8 --- Stingrays 2 (9/29/07)

Prior to Saturday's game, we took Mackenzi to the Friday Night Lights special training on Friday. She agreed to go because Ashlyn had planned to be there, and Mackenzi wanted to see her. She told me, "Mom, if I just want to leave, then we can just leave." And I agreed - we don't want her to feel like she has to be there if she doesn't want to. But, we were excited to see that she thoroughly enjoyed herself in the hour of skills training and the last hour of scrimmaging. Ashlyn came and they played in a scrimmage together. They had a great time.

Then our game on Saturday was great. As an added surprise, Nana and Papa came into town Saturday morning, so they were able to go to her game as well. It was a 3:30pm game, so all the parents came prepared with wet wash cloths, spray bottles, water, ice, etc. . . Although, it wasn't as hot as we thought it was going to be, there was a bit of a breeze.

Coach Eric was scheduled to be out of town, and so he asked if we could coach Saturday. Of course! We knew that Alyson was going to be out of town, and assumed that Ariel and Olivia would be also because Coach was going to be gone - but to our surprise, Ariel and Olivia showed up for the game! I was so excited about that!

The girls all played really well and worked together as a team. In fact, this was the first game that when someone made a goal, ALL the girls got really excited! Before they were sort of not understanding that they could be excited when their team made a goal. So that was exciting to see. Mackenzi scored one goal and nearly scored a goal that would have been awesome! She came around the left of a player from the other team and sort of "hooked" the ball toward the goal - but it wasn't sharp enough and went out of bounds just to the right of the goal. It was a great effort though! Ashlyn scored about 3 goals and Olivia scored 4 goals. Kate and Ariel were instrumental in kicking the ball in and passing it to Olivia and Ashlyn so they could be freed up to score for the team!

I had a great time and definitely came to appreciate what Coach Eric goes through when he coaches each Saturday. She's really enjoying playing soccer. She gets home from her practices and games and wants to continue playing - it's really funny to watch her.

Mermaids (?) vs Lil' Sis (?) 9-22-07

I have no idea what the score was on Saturday's game. We played at noon - and boy, was it a hot scorcher that day! The girls were just rolling with sweat. We had them under umbrellas when they weren't playing and were giving them water to drink every few seconds!

It also so happened, that one of the girls from our church was playing for the other team. From the time that Mackenzi found out Maddie was playing on that team and that they were playing her last Saturday, she has gotten teary-eyed saying that she didn't want to play Maddie's team. Brian and I didn't mention it again until that morning and then she heard the team name, "Lil' Sis" and said, "That's Maddie's team! I don't want to play her!" Well, needless to say, it wasn't her best game. Her coach was surprised at her - telling her that she needed to start running!

We have no idea what the score was. . .Kenzi didn't score any goals either. She did block a goal from happening against her team, so that was good. When we left the field, she asked, "And I don't have to play Maddie's team anymore?" And I assured her that no, she didn't have to play her team again this season.

They practiced on Monday of this past week but Wednesday was rained out. She had a great time on Monday night. I have pictures to post, but my computer at home has crashed, so I'll have to be creative on how to upload the pictures. During the practice, the girls found a little bitty frog. They were so captivated by it and were standing around in a circle. The girls wanted to take turns holding the little thing. It was hilarious because several times, in passing the frog, they would drop it and then they would all back up and squeal in this high pitched voice. It was really fun to see them all interested in this little frog. We had to coax them to go back to practicing. Brian kept a close eye on the frog during the rest of the practice by putting it in the "mesh cup holder" of his chair.

We're looking forward to this week's game. There will only be 3 of the girls at the game - the coach's girls will be out of town and then another little one will be out of town. I'm actually going to be coaching the girls on Saturday. It should be interesting. Hopefully Brian can take over my role of capturing the game on video. Stay tuned for pictures!

EXCITEMENT!

Talk about EXCITEMENT! These little Mermaids are so excited about playing soccer and learning to play together. It's only been a few weeks, but the girls are really starting to work together as a team - they cheer each other on - they give each other hugs when they see each other and when they're leaving practice or games - and give each other "high fives" when they've made a good play. In this picture the girls are working together screaming for the MERMAIDS!

It's pretty funny because her coach, Coach Eric, has gotten himself into a position where he probably will have to deal with it the entire season. Initially the girls tried to take off with the goals and Coach Eric chased them playfully and then the goals "ate" the girls. They have SO much fun. Well, this past week's practice he added another "fun" game the girls like to play. I guess a couple of them were just tired at practice and then they were playing so aggressively that a few of them got bruises and bumped into one another. . .so, Coach Eric decided that he would let the girls "FLY."

This practice went really well - Kenzi is really learning to play the game and is figuring out how to defend her goal. She's running real fast, and is working to get in front of the one with the ball so that she can work to take it from them. This video really shows how well she's doing in just such a short few weeks. You can also hear how her teammates cheer both girls on while they're playing! We're obviously very proud of her and happy to see that she's having so much fun!

Mermaids 9 - Pretty Princess 9

Another AWESOME game! Mackenzi had so much fun! She scored 5, yes 5 goals! She was going crazy out there on the field! It was a fast start for the Mermaids - the other team helped them score 1 goal, then Kenzi scored several, then Olivia scored 2 goals. . .and Mackenzi a few more, then Ariel scored a goal! It was really exciting to see the girls playing so well and having so much fun! The other girls did manage to catch up - but for a while, the score was 7 to 0. Then the other team added a fourth player to help them out a little bit. They did have fun! This picture of Mackenzi running to make a GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!

Last Sunday I bought Mackenzi a net that she can put her ball in and then kick it REAL hard. She has had a lot of fun playing with this and has learned to really put some power into her kicks. When she practiced this past Wednesday, she was funning hard and fast and was just kicking the ball like crazy! Here is a video from her practicing and running real hard. Although she didn't make a goal, she kicked the ball really hard and far! She was really excited.

Before the game today the girls had their picture taken as a team, with the parents and then with Coach Eric. The girls really seem to like Coach Eric. He has a lot of patience and teaches them the game really well.

Mermaids 6 ---- Kickin' Kittens 4

We had a wonderful time at Mackenzi's 1st soccer game on 9-8-07. The girls got to the field an hour early since they didn't have any practices last week due to the holiday and the weather. It was a bit overwhelming the night before, so Brian and I were praying that she would just have fun at her game. Coach Eric was there with his girls, Ariel and Olivia; then Alyson was there and so was Kate. The girls practiced ahead of time with Coach and Kate's dad helped out some too. They were trying to teach the girls to go after the ball and to try to get in front of the person with the ball so they could take it back from them! It was fun to watch. Kate was doing great defending the goal and kicking the balls away from the girls.

The game started and right off the bat, Olivia scored a goal for the Mermaids. It wasn't long after that that she scored another goal. Then little Mackenzi came along and scored a goal as well! She scored a second goal and then Olivia scored two more goals. Kenzi even blocked a goal from the Kickin' Kittens. She had a great time but by the end of the 3rd quarter, she was pretty hot and tired. She had played all three quarters through. So, she was able to sit the last one out and just cheer for her team. The Kickin' Kittens managed to get four goals against the Mermaids, but that's o.k. The girls had a great time playing and learning the rules of the game. Mackenzi was ecstatic after scoring her two goals. She called Nana and Papa, then Aunt Kari and Connor after her game to tell them how excited she was. Daddy had already called Memaw and Pepaw, so they knew as well.

Today as we were laying on the bed, resting, Mackenzi changed the channel on the tv and said, "Mom, look what I found." I turned around and on the tv she had found the spanish channel with a soccer game going on. She was commenting on how fast they were running, and of course that they aren't supposed to touch the ball! I had to explain to her that when she's older, and there is a goalie on her team, they will touch the ball, but not yet. It was funny! She has that rule down straight!

Despite Friday night, she seemed to have had a wonderful time at her game and looks forward to playing one of her friends at church who we found out is on a different team, Lil' Sis. That is going to be fun!

Friday Night Lights

The Mansfield Soccer Association offered an evening to play with Steve Long, a Brazilian soccer coach and player. Mackenzi was enthusiastic for the first hour and about 20 minutes. Coach Long kept the attention of these little kids and taught them several new techniques - "the shuffle" and "the 360". Mackenzi had a great time even though she didn't know any of the kids! We were a little surprised at how well she was getting in there and playing with the other kids.

Coach Long's daughter, Bethany, played with the youngers ones under 5 and under 6. They were playing sharks, which is a game she has played with her team. One person is in the middle and the rest of the players are on one side - then they try to dribble their ball past the "shark" in the middle. If the "shark" gets their ball away from them, then they have to help them out in the middle until there's just one remaining - the winner. Bethany had a hard time really keeping the kids' attention, and so Coach Long came back over to the U5 and U6 kids and was working with them again. She had a great time! He had them running around the square and trying to kick the ball into the cone. . .and then had them start from the middle of the square, dribble their ball outside of the square, and then turn it around and come back to the middle again.

Then it was time for the U5 and U6 to play some practice games. They split the kids up - there were about 15 or 20 kids. . .and Kenzi did fine at first. . .and then I think just exhaustion began to settle in - she didn't really know any of the kids - and just wasn't completely comfortable with trying to "take" the ball from others. . .and she started to cry. We stood on the sidelines for a little bit encouraging her, but she was ready to go home. So, we said "good-bye" and we headed home. That evening we went to Target to get snacks for the Mermaids soccer game the next day. We bought individually packaged animal crackers - some were iced, some were frosted and then some were plain. Maybe we'll try the Friday Night Lights again, but probably only when Coach Eric is there - so she can feel comfortable knowing someone else.

Practice # 3

Kenzi's being silly here hanging on the goal posts. That's one of her favorite things to do! The other girls have fun doing it as well, and her coach has even made it into a contest to see which girl can hang on the posts the longest without touching their feet to the ground. They have fun.

Getting ready for our first game!

We have Kenzi's first game this Saturday. She's playing the Kickin Kittens! We hope that she has a wonderful time as she plays! She has been so excited about playing soccer and is glad that this is working out so well. She really likes her coach - Coach Eric. He has a great ability to interact with the girls and to even get down on their level when they want to tell him about their Little Pony's or Barbies that they have.

I sort of designated myself to set things up for each team player to bring snacks/drinks for the games and we'll be bringing snacks this first go round. It will be so much fun!

I hope you enjoy seeing her progress as she plays soccer!