Soccer Camp

Well, since Toddler Soccer went so well, we decided to try British Soccer Camp, which was every morning for an hour for a whole week. The determining factors for Brek were a) he got his own real soccer ball and b) he got a t-shirt, which he thinks is a soccer jersey, so giving up his jersey from the Y was ok.

His coach was Coach Matt, who, of all the coaches, had the thickest accent and spoke the fastest. We thought it was quite comical that they gave the hardest-to-understand coach to the youngest kids, but hey, we got through it. Ironically, whenever the kids tried to call him Coach Matt, it sounded like "Coach Mutt."

The biggest thing that Brek learned was about "small kicks" instead of huge ones across the whole field. He definitely has learned to have more control of the ball.

They played lots of different games and that made it a lot of fun. (Tho Brek still had a hard time understanding why they didn't get to kick the ball into the big goals the whole time.)

According toe Brek, falling on the ground is an important part of soccer.

At the very end of the week, Coach Matt presented each kid with a certificate and he wrote a personal note about his experience working with each child.

Coach Matt's note to Brek said: Brek is one of the happiest kids I have ever coached. Such a keen young soccer player who is already showing a lot of potential. I really hope Brek continues with soccer when he grows up. Well done!

April

Putting Brek in soccer got him REALLY into soccer. So we spent many weekends and afternoons at the park.

I love this shot of him:

 And this action shot is just awesome!

One day we were there and as we were getting ready to leave he jumped over the edging of the play area and as he put it, "he did it wrong" and landed on his face. Showing off the owie:

And Easter: We dyed Easter eggs for the first time. I actually made the dyes myself with vinegar and food coloring. Pretty happy with how they turned out. Brek learned that it really isn't that exciting to just let eggs sit in a glass.

We let him hold one for the picture. I'm surprised he didn't pick green because he has definitely declared that to be his favorite color. He enjoyed finding them around the house the next morning.

Soccer

We put Brek in "Biddy Soccer" at the YMCA. He was #4 on Team Marshall.

Week 1:

The boy to the right is Parker, from his Primary class.

Taking a shot:

Each "game day" had about 15-20 minutes of team practice, and then a little match between another team. The first opposing team was rather aggressive.

 Week 2: Lining up with the other team.

He eventually found his own team.

Team huddle

Week 3:

Can't experience Toddler soccer without playing IN the net:

During the "game" of Week 3, Brek and coach's son Behr became really good friends. They spent the majority of the game playing on the bumpers, falling on the ground, and telling each other "to get the ball." (Tho neither one of them actually went to get the ball, even when it passed close to them. They were in their own little world and it was hilarious to watch.) They had fun, so that is what is important.

Running and sliding into the bumpers was also a favorite past time.

I apparently didn't take any pictures of weeks 4 or 5. Oh well. Brek had a wonderful time playing soccer, and was very sad when he had to give his jersey back. We're glad he had a great time. We really worked to emphasize the importance of being a good friend and having fun, and he did a great job being mindful of those things. Third on the list was only using feet with the ball, and he did better than most. Maybe we have a future soccer star in our house?