Soccer. Soccer. & Oh Yeah, More Soccer!

Well, as you can probably tell from the title of this post, soccer has been our life this week! Connor is in the third session of indoor this month with his FC Milwaukee team. This weekend was the FC tournament. During outdoor season, the team is U9, but during indoor, some of the kids join with some U10 boys and play up in a U10 bracket. I am so proud of them! The physical difference in U9 and U10 is huge! As Tom likes to say, "See that number 11? He's shaving!"
Connor has caught up with his team as far as height goes, but none of them compare with the physical "biggness" of the 9 and 10 year-olds. All that being said, they have won a couple of games and tied most. They have only lost a couple, which is amazing. They just keep plugging away, and it does get pretty rough. That is what Coach Dan is working on with Connor right now, trying to make him more consistantly aggressive. He has great ball skills and ability, he just backs down too easily. Anyway, this tournament they played in was for U10 and up, so we tied one game and lost the others, but they played so hard!Connor LOVES playing goalie, and he does a great job at it. It makes me so nervous watching him though.

Coach Tom talked with all the parents about how their child was doing. He said that in the next 2 years this team was going to be great and they would love to have Connor part of it. While we were talking, all that kept going through my head was "more soccer" "more money" and "more travelling." Don't get me wrong, if Connor is really loving it, I will love watching him. And I do love watching him. The funny thing is, after Tom and I met with Coach Tom, we were driving home and Connor announced that he didn't think he wanted to play soccer next year. I thought Tom was going to drive us into the ditch! Tom really held it together though. He just said, "Ok, if that is what you want to do." When we got home, he told me that next year is possibly the worst year for him to take off. He said, "If Connor ever wants to play soccer again, he can't take next year off!" Now, I think this is a little bit dramatic, but I do see where he is coming from. But, who is to say what Connor will do in the future other than Connor. I mean, who knows, maybe he will decide to be a tap dancer. Not to worry though (because I know you were all worried) the next day Connor decided that maybe just taking the summer off would be good. Whoo, big sigh of relief. :) (I hope that my sarcasm is coming through here.) So, he has decided to give baseball another shot. Here lies the problem, SO SERIOUS!!!! FC Milwaukee is a serious soccer league, they are prepping their U8, U9, and U10 teams to make GREAT Select teams. Connor still enjoys it so that is ok, and the coaching is phenomenal. They aren't dads coaching their kids, they are professionals. They don't yell, or get angry, they keep it fun and about learning the game. The Little League people tend to be crazy people. SOME of the coaches are dads who get too involved. Some coaches, I'm sure, are wonderful. We had 3 wonderful coaches 2 years ago when Connor played baseball the first time. But, we did see coaches that yelled and threw fits too. I will definitely be standing up to the coach that thinks this is professional baseball and he is a professional baseball coach. There is no excuse for yelling at 8 and 9 year olds. I have seen it done before. I'm going in ready! Ok, so I guess I should stop ranting now, sorry!Here is Coach Dan with the team after one of the games. Connor, and all of the kids, love Dan.


Ok, not much for this week other than soccer. Maddie, has been such a trooper through all of the tournaments and volunteering that needed to be done. She feels totally at home at the Brookfeild Soccer Complex. I mean, it was her first outing at 2 weeks old. She seems to enjoy watching the kids play. The only thing she doesn't like, is the crazy fans. Yes, soccer fans can get a little out of hand, so Maddie just gives them the pouty lip. I will have to take a picture of it sometime. It is hilarious. Also, she managed to nap during the yelling and screaming, but she was "sleeping angry." She hunkers down in her seat, furrows her brow, and falls asleep. She inherited the famous "Tom Doyle furrow." I can imagine she is saying, "Ok, I will nap here, but I am NOT happy about this." I will get a picture of that too. Next time.

The quote from Connor this week is, "Thank heaven for bleach." I agree with you Connor. What would we do without it!