Park Hill Pirates

Symeon has moved on from FAB 4 soccer for four year olds and is now in U5 which is under five but turning 5 this school year and his team is the Park Hill Pirates.  He loves it and I  must confess we do as well.  We were a bit worried at first since U5 is a practice a week and a game every Saturday.  Until this point we have avoided all Saturday activities since we are not great in the morning and we have to get up and get going most weekdays Saturday has been the one slow going day.  With this said we have enjoyed the ritual of the morning some cleaning low key relaxed, the game, and then brunch out at our local place.  Very fun. 

We have found that Symeon loves defense.  We did not expect this since he usually wants the ball but when it comes time for the game he fully understands that if you don't play defense the other team will score and he does not like that at all.  He will go after the ball but  he is also content to be part of a team which is awesome.  He passes well, moves to the open spot, and cheers for his teammates as if he scored himself.  There are a great group of parents and beside the game post game snacks and drinks are pretty important.  Here are some pictures from his first game.  One of the best things is that he talks almost the whole time he is on the field either to himself, his team, or the other team.  He has a great time and he diligently keeps track of the score letting his coach know every goal who is ahead and telling his team at the half the score.  Other kids seem to only care if they score a goal not if their team is winning but Symeon is the opposite he likes to score which he did his first game but he likes his team to win so if anyone scores he is happy. 

 The big game is about to begin and there is a bit of confusion.  

 You know this type of fan more a tailgater there to snack, hang out and socialize than see the actual game. 

 If you see the kid over Symeon's left shoulder with his hands on his hips that is the Park Hill Pirates ringer.  The kid was unbelievable he was so focused, amazing ball handler, scored every time he touched the ball and he was fast.  His Dad finally told the coach to take him out since it wasn't fun for the other kids on either team because he was so dominating.  Shawn and I had never seen a kid like him especially not at 4 years old. Luckily he is a sweet kid with a great attitude and parents who are pretty aware of his skills as well as the balance of  the team.  He is really fun to watch. 

 Here he is after he just passed to his good  buddy Jack who went down and scored!

 Playing some defense

Gotta love the action of a corner kick!