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.
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