Game on!

It was Esko versus Cloquet, in an intense game that was too close to call (because no one was keeping score.) Cloquet had the home field advantage and, seemingly, more 5-year-olds than we did, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of these kids to chase the ball pretty much anywhere it went. Even if it was 20+ feet out of bounds.

After a non-existent attention span at Sunday's practice, AJ did a pretty good job staying focused during his first game. And he scored three goals! Never mind that the first one came while the other team was in the midst of a line change. After all, no one was keeping score. The photo below was taken about two seconds before he scored his next goal.

AJ was so excited he stood in the goal and grinned, savoring the applause and the knowledge that he'd scored. Now, this is not to be confused with what he's doing in the next photo. Either he had supreme confidence in his teammates' ability to recover the ball, or else he was getting tired. Because as the rest of the team chased the ball down the field, AJ waited back by the goal in hopes someone would pass the ball back to him.

I could fib a little and pretend this game was the start of what will surely be an intense rivalry between these neighboring schools that will last until the day these kids graduate. But in reality, AJ was cheering for at least two of the players on the opposing team: Noah and Nate, his friends from Kids Korner.

I can say in all honesty that this season has marked the beginning of AJ's school pride. He loves to tell people he's an Eskomo. And during one of the breaks in the game, he gathered a couple of his friends to repeat the cheer the coach had them do at the beginning of the game. Standing in a circle they put their hands in the middle, then raised them in the air, shouting, "Goooooo Esko!"