Team Ladybugs

Soccer season wrapped up this past weekend. This was Anna’s first season to play. Shawn was concerned how Anna would feel about him not coaching her this season (He plans to coach her team during the next season.) Her first day of practice fell on her birthday. Boy, did that put extra pressure and a big mix of emotions into it! Anna is so quiet and delicate that I didn’t know how she would feel playing this sport. When we got there Shawn didn’t want to overstep his bounds with the coach and come out onto the field, so he watched from the sidelines. Anna, we could tell, was feeling very nervous as she began twirling her hair at a rapid pace. They began drills, and I could tell she felt uncomfortable. My heart was aching for her. What had I done signing her up, anyways?? And, to top it off, it was her birthday! Shawn walked out towards the goal, and she began to fight tears, not wanting the other players to see her cry. So Shawn knelt down to talk to her. She told him that she thought he would be playing with her too. The rest of that practice Shawn was close by on the field with her, playing the drills along with her. She left practice so excited, and the rest of this season was absolutely fantastic. Anna loved the game, says she wants to play forever. As the season moved forward Anna became quite the aggressive little player. She was great on defense and even scored a goal before it was all said and done. One game she actively tried kicking a ball away from another child and accidentally caught the girl’s leg in the process. The girl went down, and Anna kept plugging right along. The coach and her husband were so impressed by her. Another parent talked about the “switch” that went off in her…this dainty, quiet little girl who suddenly held her own very nicely on the field, quite confident in her abilities.