Soccer!

We signed Ella up for soccer this fall.  She was so excited to play since she has seen Daddy play so much in the past.  Somehow I ended up being the coach, which was especially challenging since Brad only was able to make it to 2 games this season.  Every Saturday I hauled all 3 girls to the 30-minute practice, followed by a 15-minute break, followed by a the 30 minute game.  It was fun, but it was a lot of work trying to run practice, coach and cheer, as well as keep Hadley happy on the sideline!  Needless to say, I didn't have much of an opportunity to take pictures.  Luckily for us though, Brad was able to make it to the final game of the season, which allowed me a small window to get out my camera!

Ella really enjoyed herself.  Brad and I talked about it and agreed that while we are not certain that she really loves soccer, she definitely LOVED being a part of a team.  She was not agressive on the field at all, which if you know Ella, shouldn't be surprising.  She was polite and didn't want to take the ball away from other people.  She would wait til they gave it up a little bit before trying for it herself.  She was an awesome cheerleader and may have enjoyed cheering for her teammates just as much as she did playing on the field herself.  She was the first to console someone who was upset after missing a goal or falling to the ground.  She definitely deserves the sportsmanship award for our team.  She never scored a goal, but came close a few times.  Towards the end of the season she did grow into quite a good defender after she decided it was okay to take the ball away from someone else if they were close to scoring a goal on us.

It was fun watching her play, and coaching her as well!  She will play again in the Spring and then Maggie is super excited to play in the Fall when she will finally be old enough to play too.