Jameson has started a winter soccer league, his very first team sport for us to try. So far, he is a big fan of his shin guards, which have skeletons on them.
The league is nice in that it is also a class. At the beginning everyone sat down and were divided amongst three coaches.
We’ve had two classes now, and Jameson is particularly shy, which surprised us since he attends daycare. We thought he would feel natural amongst other kids, but as it turns out he is very familiar with daycare and this was out of his comfort zone.
I tried to capture this adorable posture he does when he is feeling shy. He ducks his head a bit to the side against his shoulder and stands straight and narrow, hands to his sides.
Brian and I alternated with him, to help him feel comfortable, and then he was happy to participate. Given his shyness, I am happy we decided to do this, not only for the activity over the winter, but also to introduce him to these kinds of situations. He also learned how to “tick tock” the ball to move it more slowly instead of just kicking.
They teach the children that the ball is named Bob the Bobcat and they bite fingers, but not feet because they’re stinky. We were happy with how they spoke to the kids at their level, and Jameson is just starting to get the hang of not touching this ball. At first he wanted to dribble it like a basketball!
Then it was my turn, and we had a little sit down with the head coach before having some free play. I think when they get a little more familiar there will be more structure for “games” but even then, for kids this young, they throw out multiple balls and everyone can kick toward any goal.
This one with his tongue out is my favorite!
Jameson started getting tired about halfway through free play (as did Coraline) and he wanted a drink of water. He was ready to get home!
At the end, we got to sit down and get stamps. They told the kids the stamps make them run faster, so after his second session, Jameson ran around afterwards just testing it out.
All the kids came together at the end for a hurrah which was cute! They are all on “team purple”. The older kids have real teams, but the young ones are all on the same team. It is pretty fun to watch, and if he likes it we’ll do it again for another season.