GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!

At soccer practice today, LilKat1 scored his first soccer goal ever! We had a full group today, so we were able to do a 3 on 3 scrimmage. The kids were all in clump trying to get control of the ball. LilKat1 went right in the middle and gave it a good kick. The ball went right past everyone on the other team, traveled about 3/4 of the length of the field (about 20 feet altogether), and went right in the goal. I shouted at him 'LilKat1! You just scored a goal!' He was so pleased with himself. When we talked about it tonight, he said that it was his favorite part of practice, and he kept telling me about how he had never scored a soccer goal before. I was very proud of him.

When he played basketball, he would never go and get the ball. He only had a few rebounds, and the ones that he got were balls that happened to bounce into his hands. Yet here he was going after the ball in a big crowd of kids. I'm not sure how much of it is him growing up and how much of it is soccer just suiting him better. I know with basketball, he didn't like the idea of taking the ball from someone's hands (and in fact, in the YMCA league, players weren't allowed to steal the ball). And one time, he also got hit in the head with the ball that came off of the basket, which made him not so willing to stand near the hoop when his team was on offence. I actually remember him standing behind the basket so he wouldn't get hit. But in soccer, he seems a lot more confident going after the ball. Maybe it's because the ball is pretty much always a loose ball. No one is ever holding the ball. The closest they come is just standing near it. And if there's a big pile of kids around the ball, then they all seem to have equal claim to it. But I think there's something else to it as well. He doesn't mind getting right into the thick of things and getting tangled up with other kids and falling down. He thinks it's great fun. Much different than basketball. Who knows. Maybe he's just used to wrestling LilKat2 for his toys.

Well, in any case, I was a very proud Dad today. It was quite an accomplishment for him and he was very happy with himself. I felt really good for him. It was really a nice moment, seeing him attempt to do something that, for him, was rather difficult and succeeding. I hope this will help him to like the sport even more than he already does.