Just before the start of the track season, we had a meeting with Erik's soccer coach about his progress, strengths, and weaknesses. It's something the coaches do with all their players on the club team. We weren't surprised by anything and enjoyed hearing what Coach had to say about Erik, such as that "on any given day, he can be the best athlete on the field." After the meeting, Erik told me that he would decide whether or not he would try out for soccer again, depending on his progress in track. If it seems like track is going well, then he's just going to commit to cross country and track in high school, rather than soccer.
Well, after two track meets, he has decided that this is the end of the road for him with soccer. In the first meet, with only one day of track practice under his belt, he ran a 2:32 800 and a 5:30 1600. That was 3rd place for the 800 and 2nd place for the mile. The second meet, he ran 2:23 for the 800, coming in 2nd, and 5:24, coming in 2nd. Those times are way up there with some of the faster runners from our high school teams when they were in middle school. Plus, he's enjoying it! The 3rd meet was canceled due to thunderstorms, but he has another one this week.
He still loves soccer and is so fun to watch. It's hard, though, when he will probably be on the D team again, just because he tried out for club later on, and there's no room up in the higher levels. His team usually loses right now because they play teams at higher levels. He tells me it helps them become better when they play better teams, which I totally agree with, but it's hard to watch them lose every game, especially when the refs favor the other team, as happened today at his game. So, it was bittersweet that he just played in his last tournament, and he only has 2 more games left total, but I was fed up today when the other team kept pushing and shoving, and nothing was called on them. If he tries out for the high school soccer team and makes it, he still has to play club soccer in the offseason to keep up his skills.
In track, his own success can be determined by his own efforts. It's a whole lot cheaper, too!
I may post some more about his last soccer games, or I may not, if nothing is exciting to tell. Either way, soccer has been a big part of our lives for a long time, and I may actually miss going to games at some point. I will definitely miss watching Erik in the field. His teammates' moms keep asking me about his teeth, and one mom told me he was like a dragon when he got back out there after getting his teeth knocked back. I thought that was a fitting description. So, goodbye to the soccer dragon!
Some goalie shots:
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| Two players, or bigger players, it doesn't phase him. He just goes full throttle! |
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