Filed under: Cory, General, Valerie | Tags: Soccer children sports money life
So he did it. He has officially made the team.
Now we get down to the nitty-gritty the $$$$$$$
Overall the team itself is not that bad. It will be about $150 to get him registered and his uniform and then about $25 per month..
The kicker is the GAS!!! I worked it out and it is going to cost me about $1800 in gass for the year just to get to his practices. That doesn’t count the games.
I am not sure how I am going to do it.
Val’s team costs about $1300 per year but I am able to fundraise almost all of that.. between selling different items and scrip.
Maybe I can get a sponsor for his team stuff. Just someone to make a donation for the $550 or so for our part of the team costs. That would be a start.
As for the gas costs.. do you think I could get gas stations to donate gas? or gas cards?
Is this possible? Anyone out there have any good ideas?
Filed under: General, Valerie | Tags: Athletes, Children, life, Parenting, Soccer, Sports
Well I haven’t had much to write lately… or maybe it just is that I haven’t had much time. The kids have been playing with up to 4 games each over the last few weekends.
I guess the most striking issue has been on the quality of referees. Val was in a tournament last weekend. The teams were relatively evenly matched except of course the one ringer that really should have been somewhere else. The girls played great but we had one game that got completely out of hand. There was a young ref on the field. This happens all the time which is usually ok. This time though it wasn’t. The kid came out and was immediately intimidated by the other teams coach. He did not control the game. The girls started pushing and shoving and even elbowing and kicking. It was no longer a soccer match but more along the lines of a rugby match.
Now honestly it wasn’t that one team was necessarily doing it any more than the other. Our girls were no angels but the ref was not calling it. It honestly became dangerous. Girls were going down left and right. Parents were becoming more and more irritated and of course vocal.
By the end of the game parents were actually starting to go out on the field especially when it was there daughter that was being shoved or completely lifted off the ground. Once the game was over the ref just left the field, which although I don’t think anyone would have really done anything, I thought it was a pretty good idea.
I had hoped the team manager would find out what the procedures were for stoping this type of situation… but he didn’t so I did. Now we know and believe me we will stop it from happening again.
Val played great. She is a bruiser so it was all par for the course for her. At one point she got the ball away from a girl and when the play was done, whistle blown. The girl actually tackled her.. like a football player… and the ref didn’t even blow the whistle.. that was the type of game it was. Val just got up and told the girl that if she wasn’t up for the game to get off the field.. That’s my girl!!
It was ugly… made me pretty sad because the girls played great but the only thing anyone is really going to remember is how badly the ref handled the game.
Filed under: Cory, General, Valerie | Tags: Children, Kids, life, Parenting, Soccer, Sports
Well we had a really fun weekend. Cory’s Sunday league coach got together with Valerie’s Club coach and 4 other teams and had a Round Robin Scrimmage. Everyone played well.
Val played mid-mid and mid-defender. She did really well. She played her normal game. Tough and aggressive. I thought she was going to get into a fist fight with a girl on one of the other team. She was antagonizing Val. She took val’s feet out from under her a few time too. Then Val did her little bump them out of the way move and the girl backed off. Remember Val is not just your ordinary petite girl.. she is a mighty midget. She will take you out in the blink of an eye. Please don’t take me too seriously here. She is tough when she needs to be. It really is too bad that none of the other girls on her team weren’t as hungry as she was. They might have actually won something.
Cory’s team on the other hand, even if they were the youngest team out there being an Coed U8/U9 team beat the U10 Girls and the U10 Allstar Boys team. Cory wasn’t having his best game. He was strong.. took it down the field. At one point their goalie took a goal kick to about midfield where Cory made a beautiful directed header that landed infront of one of the forwards who took the shot and made the winning goal. It was one of those beautiful game moments!
It really was a very entertaining day.. quite satisfying!
Just a funny moment that I had to share. Ok with all this big soccer talk and everyone comparing him to these fantastically famous soccer players .. Cory sat down very frustrated yesterday as he was trying to get ready for soccer practice. Mom.. I can’t do it.. I forgot how.. I turned and looked at him as he was getting extremely frustrated.. Mom when I grow up I don’t want to have ask my wife to tie my shoes.. please teach me again. :)
I wrote the new coach about fees for Cory. His response was that we would talk about it later. Not sure how to take that. I also received a very nice email from the coach as to how touched he was that Cory wanted to play for him even after he ran him ragged at practice.
I think the two (Cory and Coach) are really going to get along well. They both wear their hearts on their sleeves for the love of the game. I think Cory understands how much this Coach cares about his players. Cory is not afraid to work hard at all. He loves it.. He loves to learn. He also appreciates the fact that he is not the best out there and he has room to grow. He told me that he has already learned so much just in these three practices.
No if the price of gas would just plummet and rush hour traffic would disappear this would be a match made in heaven 
Ok so we finally picked the team for Cory and of course the practice is on the same nights as Valerie’s practices. Maybe I’m getting in a bit over my head. It is what is best for Cory but I don’t want to cause problems for Val. Their dad is just going to help and their older brother is going to be trucked back and forth as always.
How do people balance all this.. holy cow.. I’m already tired.
Well we had a short break and now its all up and running again… Cory practiced with the Celtics for two hours last night and with Paris St. Germain for two hours tonight. I think that I pushed him too hard. I should have done the second team later in the week.
Both teams want him.. and see tons of “potential”. They both have completely different attitudes. The boys from both of the teams have completely different attitudes. One team feels more like a group of brothers whereas the other seems to pit them against each other and one boy has a bigger ego than the next.
Cory has made his decision and is very sure of himself. Now how I am going to work out the logistics I am just not sure… but I will do everything I can to make it all work.
When we were at the beauty parlor the ladies were telling Cory who knows you could be our next XXX and I actually said.. well yeah that is who they are comparing him too… I felt like such a pageant mom… oh my goodness… I sounded terrible… those are the moments I need to learn to shut my mouth… terrible terrible terrible… thank goodness he was distracted by his siblings who were making faces at him in the mirror… I can’t believe I did that…
Well this weekends tournament was called off because of the weather we are having here. Cory was crushed. He is chomping at the bit…
Funny thing happened the other day.. took Cory to get his hair cut.. He is very particular about his hair. He likes it over his eyes a bit so that he can swing it back.. with that oh so teenage movement of the head.. of course he is only 6. Well I just took him to the local place and we were all asking him how it was that he wanted it now. Well the beautician said .. you are into soccer maybe you want it like David Beckham.. and Cory said.. well ok but what about like Landon Donovan.. everyone started laughing.. one of the girls responded.. your forehead isn’t big enough… sorry Landon but it was pretty funny..
I feel like I’ve been neglecting this blog since my last post. My soccer players have been sick. They both came down with this cough and cold thing. With the little one playing in two tournaments in the next two weeks I made them both stay in and stay warm.
They have been playing with video games which included of course their fifa soccer game. Cory made it clear he was “studying”. If he can’t play in “real life” he can “at least practice” is how he explained it.
They received a few games - sports related and other types. I’ve been home with them and have watched them playing. One thing I have noticed is how they look at these games so differently.
My oldest son is the “chef” of the family. He cooks up a storm and feels completely comfortable in the kitchen. I would say that he is as talented there as my other two are on the pitch.. and honestly as passionate. He has absolutely no interest in soccer. He plays musical instruments and is extremely artistic. He also likes video games. His favorites are Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero III.
I was watching my oldest and Cory playing Guitar Hero III. My oldest was more focused on getting the notes right, making the music sound right, and getting better at the different songs whereas Cory was all about the points he was getting and whether or not he was winning. That sense of competition is just so much stronger in Cory. They were definitely both interested in winning but for Cory it was so much more of a requirement.
It is interesting just watching how different these two little boys are. There are only 36 months between them.. they have been raised in the same house and generally in the same way… but they are just so different.
