He's got it!

Three games into the season, and the best way to sum up AJ's performance is to simply say, "Wow!"

Of course I think he's doing a great job and is trying so hard and is showing remarkable improvement. I'd be a pretty sad excuse for a mom to not think that. But maternal biases aside, let me just say, "Wow!"

AJ has figured out what it means to go after the ball and to stay with the ball. He doesn't just kick it, he then runs after it. And if another player intercepts it, he goes after it some more. The first time he came off the field tonight, I gave him a high-5 and told him that was the best he'd ever played. The smile on his face was just about the sweetest I've ever seen. And he followed that up by giving me an equally sincere hug. It sure is fun being a soccer mom!

I'm savoring every moment that he's not embarassed by my praise. I did my best to cheer for all the kids. And clearly my voice is loud enough that they hear me. When it was AJ's buddy Gino's turn to play, Gino ran halfway out onto the field, then turned around and ran to me and requested, "Will you say 'Go Gino!' ?" Of course I would, and did.

Did I mention all this happened during an extremely lopsided game that could better be described as a rout? That made AJ's enthusiasm all the more impressive. Nobody keeps score at this level (thank goodness), but if I had to guess, I'd say the final count was somewhere in the ballpark of Cloquet: 92, Esko: 6.

And AJ scored half our team's points.

We suspected we were in for a rough game as the kids lined up for the first kick. We could hear the opposing coach direct, "Natalie, you play defense."

Defense? Their kids know what defense means?

It would have been ugly, except mercifully at this stage, our kids are too innocent to realize they were the victims of a blowout at the hands (or feet) of a group of 5-year-olds. And AJ was having fun. So much fun that when his teammates on the other line got tired, hot, bored or whatever other reason they gave for needing to rest, AJ stood on the sidelines and waved to his coach that he would take their place. Coach Rod looked to me to make sure it was okay for AJ to play so much. I knew he was drinking plenty of water so I said sure. Rod smiled and said, "he's got enough energy for all of them."

When Jeff called from Ripley to say goodnight, AJ's version of the game went something like this, "I scored four goals," (slight exaggeration) "and Mommy said, 'Go AJ!' and I knocked a girl down, and then I tackled Gino."

It's nice to know which parts stood out as highlights for him.