Ellie's Soccer

So we enrolled Ellie and her best friend Brynn into soccer. They're on the same team. I have to say that I'm really surprised by how much I'm enjoying watching Ellie play, though I cried the first time I saw the girls wearing their uniforms because they look so grown-up!

Ellie is doing so well! I've never been athetic or even coordinated, so it comes a surprise to me that Ellie seems to have picked this new sport up easily. It appears as though she's the best player on their team (though parents are strongly discouraged from saying such things). She is often the one who finishes their little tasks during practice first and she even scored both of the team's two points last week! More than that, it appears as though she's one of the few kids her age who understands that you can run NEXT to the player with the ball instead of just chasing him. She plays good defense and even seems to stop running before the rest of the kids realize they've run outside of the field lines long ago.

I'm impressed, but then again she often has that effect on me.

So... some videos are in order, don't you think? Though, sadly, I didn't get any video of her two goals, I did get the next best thing:


Ok, perhaps THIS is really the next best thing:


Or this:


No, really... hear me out on this one... I think the net was placed in the wrong spot! If only it were a foot to the right, Ellie would have scored at least 3 more points!

I do have to take a moment to stop talking about my Ellie, though, and mention someone else's kid. GASP! Yes, I know... other people have kids too. But this little kid was amazing! Tanner is a tiny little boy who KNOWS HIS SOCCER. HOLY COW! He was amazing! Leagues ahead of any other 3 or 4 year old in the entire world (I'm sure). We even joked about whether or not he already has an agent. Where the majority of the kids still focus on kicking the ball in a straight line as fast as they can (regardless of where that line is leading them... as long as they keep going, it's progress), Tanner could actually CONTROL the ball. He was able to jump out in front of the ball he was previously kicking, jump and turn and make it go in the other direction. Instead of just hoping for the goal to suddenly move towards where he was kicking the ball, he would pause for a moment and AIM for the CENTER of the goal. I'm telling you, this kid was AMAZING!

As we parents marveled at how incredible Tanner was (he alone scored close to 6 points - all in the CENTER of the goal) and not-so-quietly hinted at ways to outmove him (hey, my dad always told me "if you ain't cheatin' you ain't trying"), Michael and I wondered if Tanner simply had an older sibling who played soccer too. Perhaps this little sprite will look more like a pro when she's Ellie's age simply because she starts now. It is something to ponder... perhaps she can overcome the clumpsy genes she probably inherited from her mommy.