the soccer saga.

We have ventured into another team sport: soccer.

The first Saturday was a meet & greet and practice. Cooper's Coach's name is Mario - score! Cooper's head completely jerked when he heard the name Mario and was excited. To top it off, they are the red team!

During practice, Cooper did so well. He participated, played well, listened well, and was a good sport. We were excited that soccer was here. We had such great anticipation for this sport.

Game 1:
A bit of a disaster. Cooper cried a lot of the time he was on the field. He did manage to score two goals but didn't like the idea of someone else trying to take the ball from him. I also think he was tired (he was at a friend's house the night before), hungry (it was almost lunch and he hadn't had his morning snack) and maybe a little shy (our friends were visiting us and came to the game).

I took my camera to the first game, but the memory card wasn't in it: FAIL! All I got were a few shots from my phone.

Cooper and Judah. Can't get much cuter.

Game 2: 
Even more of a disaster. The game started out great!

This little girl is a rockstar on the team. She plays so well.

He was moving the ball down the field, when someone else from the opposing team took the ball away and he fell.

Tears started and pretty much continued the rest of the game. He pretty much stood next to his coach crying all but the first 5 minutes of the game. He wouldn't even kick the ball or run after it if it came close to him.

It was team picture day. Aren't they cute?

I also scored this picture of Cooper. He picked me a flower. It's on of my new favorites.

After this game Andrew and I were so discouraged. A friend told us, "Better for him to cry on the field than off. He's learning." So we kept that in mind. I also went to the library and checked out pretty much every soccer book they had to offer in the children's section. Lots of talks, reading, and practice that week.

Game 3: 
We were so hopeful! Gramma was in town, as were Cheryl and Larry. We had a large cheering section for Cooper that game. But we ended up cheering on the other kids because Cooper would have nothing to do with the game. He stood right next to his coach, and refused to touch the ball.  He also cried quite a a bit...again.

Sitting on the field, crying.

Yep That's what he did while the rest of his team played soccer.

After the game, he played on the field with Cheryl and Larry. Like a pro.

Game 4: 
This game his coach was on vacation so another parent stepped in. Cooper only cried for about a minute...huge improvement! Another improvement: he ran around the field! He still wanted nothing to do with the ball, but there were some improvements!

Game 5:
This game was a huge success! Cooper participated, had no tears, and even scored 2 goals! He may have been motivated by a bribe from my parents, but we'll take the win!

Yep. I scored my 2nd goal. NBD.

Our last game this Saturday. My mom and dad will be here to watch a game. The rained out week created a game that they would be here to watch! We're hoping it's another successful day of soccer.