Soccer Man

If you are having a bad day, I suggest you head to your nearest city soccer fields and watch the U4 teams. The comedic antics of these little people chasing after the ball is absolutely priceless. We have only had two practices and two games and I can not get enough. 

First of all, each team has about six kids on it. Typically one of those six is four years old, played last season, and has a clue what is going on. The other five or so are 100% lost. They are picking dandelions, looking up at the moon, or crying because they don't understand why everyone keeps taking (read: kicking) the ball away from them. 

LOVE this. Hudson's teammate came straight to soccer practice from dance class;
hence her ladybug jacket and tutu. Nice juxtaposition with her
shin guards and soccer shoes, eh?

At our first game, two of the first three goals scored for the other team were scored by our own players. And what is even more precious is when our team erroneously scored these goals, our little players still clapped and cheered because enough of them have mastered at least the idea that getting the ball into the net is a "good thing". No matter if the net was at the wrong end of the field. The parents, thankfully, cheered too.

Ready for his first game.

 How does Hudson do? Well, he spends a good portion of his time on the field with his eyes closed. I am quite confident he has absolutely no idea where the ball actually is. He does like just running after the bevy of kids. Wherever the mass of kids is, he will be there on the outside with his eyes closed.
He is absolutely an all-star at falling down. Actually, this is really pretty fundamental for all the players. One kid will fall down, and the rest of the group will ALSO fall down. It is all very dramatic and theatrical. Hudson does it all the time. He has sorta taken a liking to clothes-lining kids on the other team and his own just so they all fall together.

Hudson returning to the field to play after getting a quick hug from mom.

 Additionally, Little Man really is in the sport for the drinks. He needs "just a sip" of Gatorade about every 90 seconds or so. The group will be running up and down the field and he will be just watching me and mouthing, "I need a drink." I hate to tell him that the Gatorade which he loves so much is just colored water in a Powerade bottle we have had for about three weeks now.
On a related tangent, it seems like every week Hudson has a new word which I just love hearing him say. Something about the pronunciation and elocution are just so fantastically hilarious and specific to him. Last week it was Gatorade which he says like, "Gate-WORE-aid". This week it is incredible, in which he really pauses between the syllables and draws the whole word out, "in----CRED--i---BULL". Tonight on the way home I asked him what he thought of his game and he said it was fun. But the snacks afterwards--a Rice Krispie Treat and Capri Sun-- were in--cred--i--bull.

Playing in the rain? Yep. He LOVED it.
Mr. T, Dada, and Mama could have done without the drops.

Finally, I will leave you with a conversation from tonight's game. Coach Craig was gearing the players up for the second half (quarter? I don't know what they are doing out there either I guess) and he was telling them to get the ball into the goal. Like any good coach, he pulled an idiom out from the Rocky movies for the kids.

Coach Craig: "Let's go, guys! Eye of the Tiger."
Hudson: "What?"
Coach: "Eye of the tiger. Like at the zoo."
Hudson: "I like the elephants."

And there you have it. Team USA of the Boys and Girls Club is tearing it up at the U4 fields. Eye of the Elephant!

So happy after his first game. Went home to a nice hot shower!
Gotta love the iPhone camera for these pictures.