And... it's over!

We spent all weekend at the Hemet soccer fields for the second half of Mika's GU10 soccer tournament. On Saturday, they won their pool (beat 3 teams within their grouping) and went on Sunday to play in the semi-finals... where it was a close game but we lost 2-1. The consolation game followed at 3 pm, where we ended up playing our local rivals for 3rd or 4th place - another close game but we lost 3-2. AGH! So, they finished 4th overall in the area, which is still very good - and only the top 4 teams overall received medals. On the bright side, it was the best afternoon game the girls have ever played (usually they have no gas), especially when considering it was a double-header.

Unfortunately, it wasn't too much of a surprise that the end came. By Saturday, it was painfully obvious that teamwork had begun to break down - some of the girls felt they didn't NEED to pass the ball and so... they did not. Since these were not our best players, it really made a difference! It also did not help improve teamwork that one parent offered his child $50 to get a goal. After hearing that, there was no way this girl was going to pass - not when she saw dollar signs whenever she looked at the goal (she did not, by the way, get her money).

Still, it was a bit of a letdown, because the girls have worked hard and as a team, we've been together for almost 6 months! We've seen them develop into better players (for the most part) and we were REALLY proud of Mika. It's hard being coached by your parents and she persevered under all the pressure, whereas she could have dug her heels in and said NO. But she worked hard to live up to our expectations and it was a joy to see her finally living up to more of her potential.

Now... we look forward to softball starting up next month. I get to be one of the regular parents sitting on the sideline at practices, catching up on my reading or crocheting. I don't have to get to the fields early to stake out a practice spot, or to spend time planning drills or line-ups. AMAZING! Not that I didn't enjoy it, but now I have more time. :) I ordered some crochet books today and look forward to trying to get better this year... at least until I might have to coach again this fall...