Soccer Highlights

Jaden and Cody's fall soccer team had the same coach and nearly all of the same players from last year's team. The bright orange uniforms (which the boys absolutely loved) inspired their new team name, the Tigers.

The most exciting change for the boys was adding their cousin Ryan to the team! How fun it was to see these cousins play together and look for each other on the field. We, of course, loved having Ryan's family with us on the sidelines for every game too!

As a team, the Tigers were strong players. After a rocky start at game 1 (a 0-7 loss), the players kicked their skills and aggressiveness into high gear. They won all the rest of their games, except for one game that ended in a tie. The Tigers even beat that initial team that they had lost to when they faced them later in the season. Their games were usually fast paced and exciting to watch. All three Schleicher boys definitely contributed to the team's successes this year.

CODY

Coach Kyle pegged Cody, along with Ryan, as a defensive player this season. Those two created quite the defensive wall for their team, hardly ever allowing the ball to go past them. Most teams only scored one goal, if any at all, against the Tigers, and that was largely due to Cody and Ryan's attentive game play. Cody was always ready to boot the ball down the field with his power kick if it ever got close to him. He timed his approaches well and would put his whole body into his kicks. 

The coach often chose Cody to throw in the ball at the sidelines. He got a lot of practice with his overhead throw and learned to keep his feet grounded.

Because Cody played so much defense, he wasn't given a lot of opportunities to score this season. But, whenever the coach put him in as midfielder, he often would still score a goal. One of Cody's biggest strengths on the field was his speed. He could outrun many players and catch up to opponents who had (temporarily) gotten away with the ball. Cody always worked so hard and gave his all. We were very proud of our #9 soccer player!

JADEN

Coach Kyle particularly liked playing Jaden at the midfield position, and this suited him well. Jaden frequently was able to take control of the ball and dribble it long distances down the field. He really made some great strides this season with keeping good control of the ball as he dribbled. Jaden started off the season (on game 2) with a hat trick-- three goals! He got two other hat tricks over the course of the season and ended most games with at least one or two goals. Jaden wasn't afraid to be aggressive and seemed to know just where to position himself. He was also called upon to do many of the goal kicks and corner kicks for his team. We were proud of our high-scoring #5 this season! 

We have such a wonderfully supportive family and were so blessed to have EVERY SINGLE family member (even our out of town relatives) attend at least one of the boys' games. Wow! Look at these amazing cheering crews!

After our last game, the players (and siblings!) enjoyed some donuts while Coach Kyle affirmed each player and handed out trophies.

Adley and Nathan (and Ian too!) definitely earned themselves a donut with all their hours spent watching their brothers, often in the cold!

One final Tigers team photo:

Ryan, Cody, Matthew, William, Zak, Jaden, Alex, Dael, Carson, Van
Coach Kyle, Assistant Coach Dennis

And one final Goooo Tigers cheer! What a fun team and a great season!

As much as we loved our team, these three boys were by far our favorites! It was so fun watching them play and celebrate on the field together. Cody and Ryan would often high-five or hug each other after their team scored. ;) We were so thankful these boys had a chance to be on the same team.