I'm hoping that changing my blog design from a spring/summer theme to a fall theme will help change the weather. It has been a hot and humid summer, which is really strange for California. I'm ready for some cold weather. I want to turn the A/C off. I want to order a hot, yummy drink from Starbucks. I want to wear my coat my husband got for me last Christmas. I want to wear my Uggs my husband got for me a couple of Mother's Days ago. I want to wear jeans without sweating my butt off. Oh yeah, and I almost forgot that I have sweaters and long sleeve shirts hanging in my closet. Oh and my scarves... I want to wear a scarf. Come on Fall, bring the cold already! And the fog. And the clouds. And the rain. We've had thunder storms this summer, but not a lot of rain. It has actually felt more like Virginia than California. Well, here's to cold and brown leaves.
We have just reached the mid-point of soccer season. Duquan is in his second season with Menifee United - a club team here in Southern California. This is his 7th year playing soccer and he's now playing year-round. His energy has rubbed off on his sister and now Jaden is playing her first season of soccer. With two kids in soccer and a very specific work schedule, I needed to have some control over soccer practice times, so I volunteered to coach Jaden's team. I played soccer myself for about 15 years when I was younger so I have some experience to pull from. And of course, Steven stepped up to be my assistant coach. We are both certified as coaches now with AYSO. Duquan even pitched in by volunteering and getting certified to be one of our referees. So now he is a certified referee with AYSO. We are a full-fledged soccer family. We watch at least one to two football (or futbol - so NOT American football) games on TV every day. We've been to two L.A. Galaxy games this season and plan one going to a U.S. Chivas game this weekend. The plan: When Duquan gets on Manchester United or Manchester City or Liverpool, we're moving the family to Great Britain (because of course Duquan will be making enough money to buy us a house over there and then we can go to every one of his football games)!
Duquan's team, Menifee United, is 0-5 for the season so far, but they are making improvements. A new coaching team has been brought in and a couple of more boys have been added to the team. A lot of the teams they are playing are slightly older and have been together a little longer than Duquan's team, so it's been a learning season.
Jaden's team, Pink Panthers, is 3-2 for the season so far. We have had a lot of hot practices (above 100 degrees during practice) and we are all longing for some break in the weather. The girls get along really well and work hard. Jaden is working on the flinching part when a person comes down the field. She actually has even asked to be trained as a goalie. Now that takes some guts. Instead of accepting that she flinches and is afraid of getting hit with the ball, she wants to beat it by making herself ... get hit with the ball. Steven is our goalie coach so he's working with her. We haven't put her in a game as goalie yet; we are still having her work on her dribbling and shooting skills. But she asks to practice more even when practice is over. It's nice to see. She has enthusiasm, which is why I'm waiting just a tad before putting her in that position during a game. I want her enthusiasm and confidence to grow, not for her to get traumatized from the beginning and never wanting to play again. I've got quite a few go-getters on my team and a lot of heart. I'm proud of all of them. Basically, I've taken different things I've learned over the years from the coaches I've had in the past and I'm applying them to my team. There is a chant I have taught the girls that we say before every game and at the end of every practice; I got it from an awesome high school football coach - Doug Morris.
1 - No personal fouls
2 - Team unity
3 - 100%
4 - Win one game (I get a lot of laughs about this one, but I explained to the girls that this means to focus on just one game at a time. Don't worry about the games you've played before; don't worry about the games coming up; just focus on what is in front of you now.)
5 - Finish the game.
On 3, Pink Panthers. 1 2 3 Pink Panthers!
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