Soccer 2011

Solana just finished up her second season of soccer. She played last fall and we were sure that would be her one and only season. We made her finish the season but had no intention of ever signing her up for soccer again. We skipped the Spring season and then she started asking to play again in the Fall. I told her, "no" several times and reminded her of how much she disliked soccer - never wanting to go to games, shaking her head when her coach asked her to go in so another player could come out of a game, complaining that it was too cold, etc. But she was persistent and insisted that she would like soccer this year and try her best. Finally, the registration deadline arrived and she was still SURE she wanted to play soccer so we signed her up.

The year started with a one week soccer camp in August. For five days she played soccer for three hours. I think it was a great way to start the season - giving her a little more confidence going in. The camp ended with a visit from the Fire Dept. The kids were soaked and had a BLAST!

Solana's team was the Orange team. She was number 27. She was one of the lesser skilled and slower players on the team and never really had an opportunity to dribble the ball down the field. But she found her niche. Solana was really good at getting into the middle of a jumble of girls and kicking the ball out for her teammates to take down the field.

One of her big highlights for the year was a great save while in goalie position. She ran out and jumped on the ball before the opposing team could take a shot! Another highlight was a great takeaway near the opposing team's goal. She kicked it straight to a teammate who made a goal with one kick! She was very proud of that one!

Solana's team was pretty great and they won all but one game this season. Then the won both of their games in the playoffs and made it to the Championship game! Solana was team captain for the final game. Here she is having words with the umpire before the game. I'm not sure what she was telling him but it looked pretty important.

That game was just about the most exciting game any of the parents had ever seen. The teams were pretty evenly matched and the opposing team made two goals at the end of the 4th quarter to tie it up. They went into sudden death overtime and then double overtime without goalies. Our throats were sore from yelling and cheering on the girls. Solana, unfazed by the excitement got hot during the game and decided to take off her turtle neck from under her t-shirt. Easy enough to do without taking off her t-shirt. But then she decided to take her stretch pants off from under her shorts. Her coach told her not to but she was undeterred. The coach didn't know how hot she felt. At one point during the game I looked across the field to the sideline and saw Solana stripping off her pants while sitting in the folding chair! The asst. coach later told me that she turned around to see Solana sitting pants free on the chair and pulling her t-shirt down over her panties. "I snuck them off" she proudly exclaimed. She helped Solana get her shorts back on and then Solana felt able to go back onto the field to play. Un-believable. I don't know where this kid comes from.

They won.

We're #1!

Solana couldn't wait to go to school the next day and tell her friends that she's one of the "best" soccer players!

In the end we're glad we signed her up and she already says she wants to play again next season. Dave thinks he may even try his hand at coaching. I hope he does. I bet it would be so much fun for both of them.

Cross Country Camp - The Big Race!

Solana finished up a week of cross country camp last week. The coach running the camp is the Centerville H.S. coach. He had a huge group of elementary school age kids running for an hour and a half each morning during the week. He did a great job. The kids loved it! They pretty much ran the entire time but did it with fun games so that they enjoyed every second of it. The week ended with a 1 kilometer race on Friday afternoon. Parents came to cheer on their kids. There were white chalk lines and cones on the ground. And a cooler full of water and popsicles at the end. All of the kids were given a race medal at the end and the top five girls and boys each won a trophy.

They had to show up 20 minutes before the race to do stretches and warmups. This picture was taken right after the warmups. The kids were sent back to their parents for one last kiss and drink of water before the race.

Solana with her friend, Sophia. I had to take this picture quickly so that she could have plenty of water drinking time before the race. Question. Why is everything the coach says taken to heart and everything I say completely blown off? Just curious...

Doing exactly as she's told. Ahem.

Before the race I was chatting with a couple of my friends whose daughters also attended camp. I asked if their girls were excited about the race. One says, "Oh yeah! Mine says she's gonna win!." We giggle appreciatively at her enthusiasm. The other mom, "Mine was really worried that she may come in last." We felt bad for her nervousness. What did Solana say? Well, when Dave and I told her to do a good job she replied, "It doesn't matter who wins or loses. It's all about having fun! As long as we have fun it's ok and it doesn't matter what place we come in." There's Solana for you. I'm pretty sure she was just regurgitating what the coach told them in preparation for the race but she definitely took it to heart. I think she has the right attitude. Nobody is ever going to pressure this kid to be more competitive than she wants! I guess I need to give up my hopes of being a super stage mom, huh? Just kidding.

To tell the truth I kind of worried she might just forget the whole running thing and stroll along the path ready to tell-off anyone who tried to make her run. I could just picture it....Solana's happily strolling along the race route looking at birds in the trees. We're trying to cheer her on, "Come on Solana! You can do it! It's just a little bit farther. Come on and run. Yay Solana!" And her just smiling at us. "Oh Mommy and Daddy. It's OK. As long as I'm having fun I don't mind coming in last. It doesn't matter."

Fortunately, my little scenario did not play out. The race began and all the kids took off. My first thought, "Oh my. They're running so FAST!" I wondered how many of them would poop out halfway. As the kids ran past I was trying to keep my camera pointed and also look for Solana. I worried I'd missed her but then I caught her. She and her friend, Sophia were pulling up the rear right behind her other friend, Anna. They were running their little hearts out and Solana had a big ol' smile on her face! It was so cool!

The race course was in the figure 8. They started on the right side of the bottom of the 8 and finished the bottom loop first. As they crossed the middle they headed up a steep hill. Then they did the loop at the top. Here's a picture of Solana finishing up the top loop. She was still smiling!

As she crossed the center for the second time she had to go back down the steep hill. This is where everything almost fell apart. She picked up too much speed on the way down and hit the ground hard right at the bottom. I was videotaping and caught it on tape. I wanted to stay back so as not to create more drama but it was obvious she had no intention of getting up. Just as I ran over to talk to her some of the high school helpers got to her and offered to run the rest of the race with her. She wasn't hurt and she got up (still upset) but they were just what she needed. She started running again!

She was still on the verge of tears at the end but I was so glad she finished and I think she was too.

Little brother Adam and Little Sister Chloe snuck into this picture of racers, Anna and Solana.

Solana and Sophia didn't want to smile so Dave told them, "Don't smile. Whatever you do do not smile." It always works for Solana. Apparently, Sophia took him literally.

Nature Camp 2011

Solana attended nature camp through our local Parks and Recreation department this summer. She did one last year and loved it. It's one week long and 3 hours a day. There are several to choose from. This year we put her into one called Water Odyssey. They spent a lot of time in the creek and stream every day. I had to bring a towel and change of clothes to pick her up every day because she was pretty much soaked up to the waist with creek water. I also had to spray her with sunscreen and bug spray when dropping her off. We didn't want to pick up any ticks now, did we?

On the second day she won an award for catching the most crawdads! And that's after she gave some of the ones she caught to friends who didn't catch any.