Spring Soccer

For the third consecutive year Callie played indoor soccer with the Cassidy team and she had a blast doing it. It was so good to get back to playing on a team with more of her friends and against girls her own age. It certainly highlighted what confidence and comfort can do for her overall play on the field.

We probably have touted this in earlier posts, but soccer carpool has saved our lives more often than not. The girls both have practice two times a week and of course are on opposite days. We were lucky enough to be a part of two fantastic carpool families. Reese's crew early on got into the habit of having the driver's family provide a snack. This was definitely kid-driven and parent tolerated, as long as they were healthy snacks. We tended to err on the very healthy side - in this picture the girls had a choice between apples and avocados.

The arrival of spring soccer meant tournaments and as a result we were often headed in two different directions on any given weekend. Callie was still on LFC Grey, which had its frustrations, but with her good friends Lydia, Maddie, and Addie she powered through and learned a lot.

Many times weather determined how the parents divided an conquered. 30 degree weather on a Saturday morning in Cincinnati sent Sarah running in the opposite direction, for example. That is why John took this photo of Callie pictured here.

On the same weekend Sarah and Reese were in Elizabethtown and although the mornings were a little chilly, the sun came out and the temperature topped out in the mid-60s. That is definitely more along the lines of what Sarah is willing to work with on the sidelines.

Of course the way things work is that indoor season is wrapping up as outdoor is just beginning, so we also had our end of the season banquet for Cassidy's indoor soccer teams. So many girls wanted to play that we had two teams this year. One full of Reese's friends and another full of Callie's. And both were led by Mr. Mahan, who is a prince among men.

Callie's team won the championship of their division, and the strong 5th grade leadership was definitely a big reason why. Like Callie, many of these girls were playing for the third year and they had a great time. It's one of the many reasons they will miss Cassidy.

It is important to note here that Mr. Mahan has coached Callie all three years. Even more impressive, he actually retired at the end of the 2017-2018 school year but has come back to coach because he loves it so much and knows that the girls cherish it. He is such a good guy and both Reese and Callie adore him.

Reese's team is still very much all about player development. This means that every player has to play every position. No one really likes to play goal, but Reese has a special aversion to it. She is feisty and aggressive on the field, but put her between the pipes and she becomes a mass of quivering jelly. Just take a close look at this picture and tell us we are wrong.

Another tournament for LFC Grey, and unfortunately it was another weekend of defeats for the squad. This is the crew here. They went through quite a bit over the course of the season, including five different coaches and having half the team playing a year above their age group. We can say it was certainly a character building year for the players and their parents.

This picture here says so much, however. If not for the fact that these four girls had each other all year, it could have been a very different outcome. They embraced their goofiness and kept each other smiling throughout all of the ups and downs. They were and are so lucky to have each other.

In comparison to the travails of LFC Grey, LFC Academy had a rip roaring good time over the year. These thirty girls got mixed up every weekend, learned how to play good technical soccer, and met so many sweet, kind girls. Reese loved her coaches and enjoyed her teammates both on and off the field. And their end of the year bash was a sight to behold.

Put aside your hygienic concerns for the moment and just think about the pure joy of a huge ice cream sundae served up in a rain gutter that was about 20 feet long. Honestly, we cannot believe we even just had to type that. The kids loved it and had no problem diving in to mixture of ice cream, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream. Truly a sight to behold. And just like that, both girls ended their first year of LFC.