Carrie may be gone, but practice was on! It was good to have something to keep Shane active.
My parking spot was not conducive to photography.
So I relocated.
But the chain link fence didn't make for great photography either. Shane's the one on the right, crouching, and probably making animal noises for some reason or another. Gabe's dad was coaching, because Coach Outland was out land.
It was a good practice! There were lots of kids running, kicking, and laughing.
Our first game of the season was the following morning. We were the second game of the day. Shane talked to Peter on his way out and our way in.
Coach started by passing out shirts! Side fact: The teenage lineman/referee on his phone? That's Henry, one of my computer science students.
After shirts, everyone stretched as a team.
Shane warmed up with his gloves on. He truly identifies as a goalie above all else!
Everyone ran in when Coach called to tell them the starting plan.
Shane was bummed to find out he wasn't going to start in goal, but was okay being on defense.
I try not to yell too much now that Shane knows what he's doing, but I did yell "You're not the coach!" more than once. Shane kept trying to "give tips" to Jet, who was in the goal and new to it.
The other team was good. I recognized a lot of the kids from last year. With Jet being new in the goal, they racked up multiple scores. Shane literally growled with frustration (and I yelled some mix of "You're going great! Relax!" and "Knock it off! Focus on the game instead of being dramatic!")
We had some forays across the field in the first half, but we were mainly behind and on the defensive
I thought Shane played well. I got to see Henry's goal skills when he jumped for an outward bound ball, too!
Shane got his wish in the 2nd half. He started in goal.
He really is a good goalie, too. That's not just parental bias. He tracks the ball on the field, has a good field IQ, and communicates (sometimes too much!).
He'll cackle when a shot misses, but he's quick to congratulate members on the other team when they make good plays, as well. He wears his heart of his sleeve, but I think it's pretty clear his intentions are good.
Shane's team did much better in the 2nd half. I credit it to him stopping so many shots!
Once he got the ball, Shane was good at punting it to at least midfield to hopefully start a rally.
He's not perfect, though. Shane's most glaring weakness is his ability to goal kick. He doesn't get much power at all, and he sometimes tries to 'trick' the other team.
This time he faked a kick to the outside, turned, and flubbed a kick down the middle. It went maybe 10 feet to a happy member of Teal.
I seriously dropped my phone. It was still recording! The ref ruled the goal ineligible for some reason (maybe offsides or maybe it didn't travel far enough?), so Shane got a reprieve this time.
Overall, I thought he played fantastic. This punt to Gabe set up a score.
The gif cut off maybe 2 seconds too soon to see the whole play.
It was fantastic!
Gabe was the player who made the shot. In my opinion, he's clearly the most talented player in the local league. He runs the whole game, handles the ball, shoots, has no ego, and shakes off bumps and falls without complaint.
Lena's another player on the team. She's a solid defender. She'll go shoulder to shoulder with anyone and work to stela the ball away.
Jet is new. He started off the game in goal, but where he showed his talent was in the strength of his leg. He had several big boots when the ball came to him! Later in the season, Coach Outland decided to pair Jet's strength with Shane's weakness. Jet became the dedicated goal kicker! Shane would act as Jet's hype-man and chant, "Jet! Jet! Jet!"
The game ended in a loss, but I was proud of how everyone played! If Shane had been in goal the whole time it might have ended differently, but the team is still figuring out its identity and strengths.
I'm trying to remember if this was the game I bought Shane a reward after. If it was, he was upset at the loss. I decided to go by Baine's Coffee (his team's sponser) to buy him an apple pie scone to show him I was proud of how he played and thank them for supporting some local fun.
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