Abundantly Blessed: Soccer Highlights

Jaden and Cody's soccer season this spring consisted of 10 games, and by the end, their little team ended up being undefeated. This fact certainly contributed to our boys' enjoyment of the game during their first exposure to soccer! It was fun seeing Cody and Jaden's growth over the course of the season. Plus, with so much of our attention devoted to Adley this spring, Jason and I were happy to have something special just for Jaden and Cody. Here is their team of fellow 4 and 5 year olds during a practice.

The Pirates:
Aiden, Bella, Riley, Grayson, Cody, Jaden, Mason, Brayden, Conner, Preston

JADEN'S HIGHLIGHTS

Early on in the season, Jaden developed a knack for defensive playing, often chasing after his opponents if they were on a break-away and kicking the ball out of bounds before the players could score. If the ball was coming downfield towards him, Jaden would often back up to position himself between the ball and the opposing goal. He was always thinking defense! Jaden also got a lot of practice doing kick-ins. He was an alert little player who put a lot of thought into the game. I loved watching him run across the field with an eager bounce in his step. Jaden scored a few goals during the season, too! We were quite proud of our #8 soccer player!

CODY'S HIGHLIGHTS

Cody was our quick offensive player this season. He scored his first goal during game #2 (the game that Mommy and Daddy missed because we were in the hospital with Adley!) and then got on a roll. Cody scored at least one goal during every game after that too, with the exception of just the very last game. After every goal, Cody would make a small fist pump and then give a BIG smile over to the sidelines. Defensively, our little #10 player kept good tabs on his opponents and quickly chased them down if they got away with the ball. Cody was also so much fun to watch on the sidelines. Even when he wasn't in the game, he would watch every move intently, shout out directions to other players, and jump out of his seat to cheer on his teammates. Even though no one ever really announced or posted any score, Cody always kept track of how many goals each team had. He was a motivated and competitive little player. We were very proud of our little #10!

BOTH BOYS

Being on a soccer team made our boys think about soccer a LOT! All of a sudden, they wanted to kick their soccer balls all the time at home. They even developed a game of at-home "animal soccer" (using their stuffed animals to hit one of Adley's soft little balls across the floor into a goal). It has been fun for us to watch their little sports minds begin to develop. :)

On the soccer field, the boys' coach most often played Cody and Jaden at separate times. We think this was so he didn't have to worry about telling them apart! For whatever reason he did it, it was nice for this mommy and daddy to always have a kid on the field to watch. It kept their games much more interesting! :) During a handful of games, however, the coach did put our boys in the game together. A few times they even passed the ball to each other. Most often, though, both boys were just among the giant herd of children that was always surrounding the ball.

Jaden and Cody were blessed to have LOTS of family fan support for their games. The boys loved having family members cheer for them on the sidelines. What an encouraging family! (Uncle Jon, Aunt Chelsea and Isaiah made it out for a couple of games too, but we missed taking their picture. Sorry, guys!)