Logan tends to err on the side of shyness. He doesn't enjoy being the attention of a crowd, and he has a hard time interacting with people he doesn't know. I knew that might make for a rough soccer season, but I think it's good for him to learn how to come out his shell and be assertive. He loves being physical at home and with his buddies, but I knew he'd have a hard time fighting for a ball amidst a bunch of boys he doesn't know. After quite a few games where he stayed outside of the pack and mostly watched us on the sidelines, I realized he needed to be gently nudged in the assertive direction. Trying to talk to him about the game only led him to cover his ears with his hands and get angry. So I pulled out the secret mom weapon: ice cream. When he started to smile a little bit, I promised double scoops. Of two different flavors. All he had to do was fight for that ball and get it into the goal. What do you know, he was suddenly the best player on the field. His coach walked over and exclaimed, "that's a whole different Logan out there!" He ended up scoring 2 goals in that goal, so he went ahead and included pizza in his deal with me. He also scored another goal at the game pictured below, which was his last game. Most importantly, he learned how to work hard for something that scared him. And now he loves soccer!
Once he decided to assert himself, there was no stopping him. We'll work on keeping his hands to himself next season!
This shows the goal he made in his last game. The other player was trying his hardest to keep it out of the goal, but Logan kicked it right between his legs.
His coach always got down on his level to congratulate him and help him understand the game.
During half-time, Logan did some stretching on the sidelines. He told us he wanted to be nice and loose when he entered the game again!
Right when Logan was about to score another goal, he got knocked over very hard by another player. I thought he would for sure start crying and need to be taken out of the game. The other coach helped him up, and I saw the offended look on Logan's face.
But after a great talk from his coach, he stayed in the game and helped his team!
This is my favorite picture! Check out that fierce look on his face! It was so hot this day. The humidity hit early for a couple days, and these boys were very worn out by the end of the game.
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