Region 8 Soccer in the House!

Soccer started in August.....of 2013....before school even started....when it was still about 50,000 degrees outside...when all I really wanted to do on Saturdays was go to the beach.

Soccer ended last weekend.  Now I'm no mathematician, but I'd say that's about 7 months!  And yes, it felt that long for us.  HOWEVER,  Derek was STOKED this season.  It was, without a doubt, his best season yet and it was so much fun to watch him to begin to show his athleticism, leadership and endurance!  

 During the regular season, Derek was on the "Dynamite Zombie Warriors"  (his suggestion, incidentally).  Here he is with Coaches Elgin and Fernando the day they won first place against "The Steaming Volcanos" ( these names kill me).  That made 2 championships in 2 years for Big D!

Dynamite Zombie Warriors!!

There appear to be 2 rules in AYSO:  1) Everyone plays (which is good), 2)  Soccer games are every Saturday for the rest of your life. ( not so good if you ever want to have a life outside soccer)  So, immediately following regular season and tournament of champions, it was right into All-Star season.  Admittedly, it was a blast to watch these boys.  This is our 4th straight season doing all-stars between Carissa and Derek and this is the first time that one of their teams has won games, so it was satisfying!  

Although,if you ask Derek what his favorite part of the tournament was, he'll tell you it was , "Playing in the trees with Elijah and throwing the peapods at each other".  This, despite the coach's strict warning to, "Go rest and DON"T SCREW AROUND!"  Yeah, right!

Despite the screwing around between each of their 5 games, they won all of them and thus were champions of the Area, which is roughly the entire San Fernando Valley, including Burbank.  

Of course it couldn't end there, so 6 WEEKS (!?!?!?) later, we headed to Bakersfield for the Section finals, which is about 1/4 of the state (there are 4 sections in Cali).  Teams came from as far as San Berdu, out to Ventura and up the Valley to Tulare.  I honestly expected the boys to be destroyed in their first game, but wouldn't you know it- they destroyed Santa Barbara, which was especially satisfying.   They eeked out a tie against Tulare and then won their final game, putting them into the semi-finals the next day.
 Grayson had fun hanging out with another 7 yr old younger brother.  The boys were so stoked, especially to win in a rainstorm in front of our huge crowd!

Unfortunately, the semi's were rough, and we took a beating from Santa Barbara's other team, but they were clearly superior in every way, not some rag tag group thrown together at the end of the regular season.

 Despite the disappointment, the boys were back to screwing around, kicking balls at each other, throwing each other into the bushes, and having a great time within about 5 minutes.  Medals always help!
 

 It was great fun for all of us, watching these 9 and 10 year old boys play their little hearts out.  Personally, I'm ready for a break, but wouldn't you know- tournament team practice starts NEXT WEEK!!  What have I gotten myself into??