Angie becomes a soccer mom

Today I became a soccer mom! We enrolled both of the boys in Upward Soccer at Sunnycrest Baptist Church here in Marion (with the hopes that R.J. will make it home before the end of the season in June). The kids practice once a week (our boys' practices are Mondays at 4:00), and they have a game every Saturday from April 28 through June 16. The program is designed to emphasize good sportsmanship and Christian principles of conduct. Each week at practice, the team pauses halfway through for a devotion time. Kids have a Scripture verse to learn each week. The focus for coaches, parents, and players is to be positive and encouraging and to learn the skills of the game.

Charlie plays in what they call the Instructional League for preschoolers. They play 4 kids per team, both boys and girls on a team. They do not have a goalie guarding the net. Both the field and the goal are reduced size. The aim is to learn the basics of the game. One of the biggest things they emphasize in the Instructional League is which net each team is supposed to kick the ball into (seriously). They rotate the kids (8-10 per team) in and out every 5 minutes, so everyone plays an equal amount of time regardless of skill. Games last an hour with a halftime of 10 minutes. No one keeps score. Charlie's team is called the Willows; their jerseys are gold. His coaches are Miss Olivia and Miss Jamie, each of whom have a daughter on the team.

R.J. will be in the league for 1st and 2nd grade boys. (For grades 1-6, girls play on separate teams.) They play 6 kids per team with one of those as goalie. R.J.'s team is called the Sharks; their jerseys are purple. His coach is Troy, who has been very flexible with the idea that R.J. will (hopefully) join the team mid-season.