Dandelions and All Stars

You should know by now that fall means "futbol" in our house.
Soccer family are we.

This was the first time we've had both boys play the same season, however.
Stephen had had his fill of rained-out spring games, I guess.

I didn't like the idea.
There's something about being together to support one kid's game.

It was especially tricky with Stephen helping coach both boys' teams.
Thankfully their schedules varied enough that they only overlapped a few times.



Mr. Eli ready for action on the field

Ah, the refreshing goodness of an orange at half-time

Just let me play already, you guys

With the rest of his team, the Blue King Cobras

*This is where I passed the laptop to Stephen and had him write the rest of this post*

 

This was Eli's second season, but for some reason he was that kid.  That kid that whiffed at the soccer ball the way Charlie Brown does when Lucy snatches the football away right before he kicks it.  He was the kid who was in it for the treats.  He was the one who always wanted to play with a certain buddy on the team.  And yes, he was the one lost in the clouds, prone to just lay on the ground whenever possible and dare I say, pick a dandelion or two. 

But then a miracle happened.  Grandma Paula, Grandad Jory, Connie and Kendra came for one of his games mid season (the weekend of B's baptism).  It was night and day.  Eli was aggressive, attacking the ball, an intimidating collision ready to happen.  And he even scored a goal.  He didn't let up the rest of the season, although there were still a few Charlie Brown moments--at least he was being aggressive and trying to crush the ball.  We were amazed.

 

Bennett with some special Seattle visitors, Grandad Jory and Connie--hooray!

By hilarious coincidence, Bennett ended up on one of the Le Petite Blue soccer teams.  Hilarious because we'd always felt they belonged in a competitive league, not a recreational one.  They consist of mostly French coaches and players that attend the local French American school.  (That's not why we groaned every time we played them, however)  They always dominate every team our kids have ever played on.  I mean, dominate.  Anytime we'd see those blue uniforms coming, we'd hope for the best but expect the inevitable beatdown.  We figured it was poetic justice that our kid would play on the team we had dreaded for so long.  In the end, however, we all ended up loving this team, and not just because they win every game.

 

Bennett has always had the drive and talent to play well, but this season he had an excellent coach from Montreal, Zafer Diab, who coached him to a new level.  Stephen was the proud parent as Bennett was often recognized for his play in practice and in the games.  He was the shut-down defender who had to beg the coach to let him play forward or goalie.  But he was so good on the defensive side that Coach Zafer relied primarily on him to protect our defensive half of the field as well as to find open teammates and control possession of the ball. 

 

Coach Z recognizing the team for an undefeated season
(and offering them a glass of wine; that's a soccer party first)

Benito with his medal, and the glass of wine he didn't drink :)

B and his teammate Raymond, the high scorer on the team

Coaches' moment

Coach Zafer praised B for his vision on the field and called him an exceptional player.  Bennett's play inspired us to allow him to try out for the competitive team.  After two tryouts he made the Spring competitive team and will play with his friend Luis.  It's a big commitment, but we are curious to see how B does with a higher level of competition.