David Beckham

28 Sep 10 by | 1 Comment | 22 view(s)
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No.  She doesn’t have any tattoos.  Nor does she have magazine worthy abs.  Nor do I believe that she could do it every time. But this past Saturday, David Beckham had nothing on Aspen.

If you’d care to watch the whole game, feel free to do that.  It’s a good all around performance by the Fire & Ice.  Nisi had a fantastic game (including some Didier Drogba moments, like several goals and an open net miss that somehow isn’t in the video).

If you’re here for Aspen’s moment, though.  You can click right here to jump to it.  I’ve provided it in full speed and slow motion.  Take note of the the distance, the arc, the curve, and the finish in the side netting.  Beckham would be proud.

Another reason to love this game… Ra had a swim meet Saturday and Sunday, so she wasn’t going to be able to make it to the game.  But wait one second… I think I saw a number 3 running around out on that field… I’m loving seeing the girls play for each other and wanting to be there badly.  It’s so much fun.

A loss, but the good kind

27 Sep 10 by | No Comments | 7 view(s)
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This year has been jam packed with soccer victories.  The girls are on good teams, and the stars have aligned for a lot of wins.  Not so for Oakley’s team this week.  They ran up against a really big, really skilled team.  But you know what?  The Cheetahs that I saw play did a great job.  They battled, they competed, they didn’t give up.  Had the ball bounced a little differently, I think there’s a chance they come away as the victors.

Really, though, how could they be expected to win?  The other team had matching hair bows.  Certain things just can’t be overcome.  (The final score was 4-2 for red, even though all of the goals aren’t shown here.  Three of their goals went in off the post!)

Be sure to check out Oakley’s face during the slow mo as she looks to see if she can cross it.  (The cross fails, but the face is awesome.)

The Lou, Game 2

20 Sep 10 by | 1 Comment | 9 view(s)
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Lindy’s soccer career continues.  Game 2 was hot.  Like, 90 something degrees.  And Lou’s motor still didn’t quit.

 

Fire & Ice, Game 2

19 Sep 10 by | No Comments | 40 view(s)
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A week ago, we featured a lot of video from Lindy and Oakley’s games, but we mostly had stills from Aspen’s game.  Not so this week.  For your perusal, we have nearly 10 minutes of exciting video from Fire & Ice.  This features good moments from most of the team…

The team played great, especially early on, and jumped out to a big lead against a team that played with us in the league last year.  This was a U10 team, just like us, and one that beat us a year ago.  So the girls were thoroughly pleased to get a victory.

Keep reading…

The Other Side of the Coin

14 Sep 10 by | No Comments | 35 view(s)
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A year ago, Aspen’s team played in one tough league.  The league consisted of the Purple Pandas, 3 teams from Brentwood Soccer Club, 1 team of pseudo club players, and 1 other team comparable to the Pandas.  Frankly, there were several very challenging games.  But the girls never gave up… they kept working, they won and tied their last two games… and they were all excited to come back.

Well, this year they reaped the benefits of their efforts in game one.  Part of the reason is that they’re now the older girls in a combined division of U9 and U10 girls.  But part of it is that they’ve just gotten good.  I think they deserved one game like they got yesterday… (A blowout, of the 12-0 variety, I hear.)

 

Keep reading…

Oakley’s Return to Action

13 Sep 10 by | 2 Comments | 43 view(s)
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Little Miss Lindy isn’t the only one playing soccer this fall.  Oakley returned to the field with several of her mates from last season (or the one before).  Because Oak is now old enough to play in the “advanced” league, it was possible to keep some of the girls together.  This is actually a lot of fun for all of us, as we get to know the girls, their parents, how they play… It’s good stuff.

Oakley managed to poke home a goal really early on as well (even though she was under the weather… I was proud of her for powering through.)

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Keep reading…

Another Soccer Career Begins

12 Sep 10 by | 6 Comments | 409 view(s)
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Quite frankly, I think she deserved this moment.  Little Miss Lindy has trekked to countless soccer games… she’s been on the sidelines in utero, she’s been there in frigid cold, she has been there.

She’s been talking about it for days.  She had to watch both sisters play before her again today. At 2pm though, finally, the game was all about Lou.  She was confident.  She was ready.

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It took her 16 seconds to score.

Enjoy the video.

Keep reading…

Wave Slamming

18 Jul 10 by | 1 Comment | 40 view(s)
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The kids (ours and the cousins) were all about the waves this year. While it makes me nervous on occasion, I can’t really argue with them. The waves are absolutely my favorite part of going to the beach too. For you, I have a review of the best wave jumping seen at Port Trinitie last week…

The Giraffe

22 May 10 by | No Comments | 79 view(s)
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Today was a good day, a memorable one. Like most Saturdays, it started at the market, where we bought some 32 quarts of strawberries… But that’s another post.

From there, to the soccer fields, where the Purple Pandas (Aspen’s team) managed a 1-1 draw against a team that had beaten them 7-1 weeks ago. Yes, the Pandas ended the season on a hot streak.

Next up? Oakley’s team ran into a wall… perhaps the most physical team I’ve seen in U7 soccer. Some of the girls did physical right, clean, others, well, not so much. But Oakley’s team, the Smashing Dolphins played it just right. They didn’t back down from anyone, they went after them, and they dealt with the checking in just the right way… They put the ball in the back of the net 5 times…

From there, we all caravanned to the Martin house for a soccer celebration… I’ve had a great season with two fun teams of girls… some of whom we’re getting to know really well. I’m thankful for that… even in a season where the Panda’s won but one game, the group of girls is growing closer, and that’s pretty awesome to see.

Keep reading for the giraffe

Oakley’s First Grade Year

22 May 10 by | 2 Comments | 45 view(s)
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Every teacher should have to create a video summarizing their year, right? I mean, why wouldn’t they, what with everything else they have to do at year’s end?

Well, the incomparable Miss Drury did just that for her kids, and she shared it with us at their final publishing party. You get to hear the kids talk about the things they’ve learned including the techniques and concepts… complete with some words you may not know.

If you’d like to skip ahead to hear Oakley’s bit, you can click right here. Otherwise, enjoy the video in its entirety.