Kick it to me, Pele'

Yeah, she is #1...the one and only!

Saturday afternoon was Bea’s last soccer game of the season. She has improved soooo much! She actually bends her arms when she runs. I know. You are thinking, what? How do you run with your arms straight? I will just tell you, not well. And slowly. Note to parents: teach your kids to run before signing them up for ballet.

I digress.

At the first game Bea was barely in the back of the bunch as they all corralled the ball sheep dog style. She was far more concerned with how her lip-gloss looked than catching some damn ball. Every now and again she would go after it, but I think it was because it was hot pink, and not because it’s the concept of the game. Now, it is the end of the season. She “practices” with one of us when she is benched and is smack dab in the middle of the group when coach puts her in the game. She is so on top of it, she scored TWO goals!! Okay, so one goal and one assist, really. The second one went in after she gingerly kicked the ball when her teammate very gracefully fell over it. I say gracefully, because this 4 year old managed to fall over the ball and move her arms in such a manner that she caught herself WITHOUT touching it.  Seriously impressive!  I am not really sure what the team’s record was this season because everybody seems to win…that is until they go into the real world.  Ah, to be a member of this generation.

While all that 4-year-old soccer was great and all, the soccer celebrations continued on Sunday. I had the privilege of teaching some of the greatest kids before I quit last year. Among the many, was one little soccer player. Melissa is respectful, kind, and humble. She would do anything for her friends and worked hard in the classroom. Aside from all of that, she is a ROCKSTAR on the soccer field. Mel accepted an opportunity to play for ND this year, and boy has she! She was not only honored with the Rookie of the Year award for the Big East, but she was the second rookie in history to be named Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the Championship tourney. That is probably because she scored the ONLY goal of the game to give ND the Big East title and keep their record at 21-0-0. Holy Crap! So proud of you, Melissa!