the fall kickoff...

Lauren started soccer this morning. We were sans Jeff as the start of soccer always coincides with the Calvin Golf Tourney...so, we were a few minutes late and technically missed the kickoff. We also missed the first practice on Thursday due to a miscommunication from one of the coaches.

Put this formula together and you have one confused Purple Tornado. This league is the next one up from the type of soccer she was playing last year. You know what I'm talking about, "Swarm Soccer"...all the kids move in a pack with the ball. Well, poor Lauren gets there today with no preparation and is told to stand in one position (a term she's never heard) and play defense (another unheard of term).

In her first play, the other team comes at her with the ball and she stays right where she was told to stand and doesn't move in her interpretation of this thing called "defense". She smiles as she does move her head to watch the girl kick the ball in the goal. She is then told to go after the ball. Confused. Then there's a throw in and she's told to "block" a player on the other team. I can't imagine what she thought that meant, but it sure looked like she felt like just laying down for a wee nap. I caught a picture of her trying to communicate her confusion to another teammate (above). At this point, I am on the sidelines, feeding Sarah and Julia their contentment snacks, and just consumed with mommy-guilt for not better preparing Lauren...but, truthfully, I'm not sure the fundamentals of "bump, set, spike" would've helped (I did not play soccer). Towards the end she started to move around a little bit more as seen in the photo below. The most important thing is that she likes playing and I like Saturday morning coffee on the sidelines. I don't know what Sarah likes besides the snacks, but we'll worry about that later.

On another note, I do believe that Gymboree, Gap and Old Navy have absolutely nothing on a soccer jersey and a pair of umbros. She was mighty cute out there!