Micah's first soccer game!

Micah played in his first soccer game yesterday.
Actually, that sentence should really say, "soccer" and "game".  You can probably imagine how crazy, fun, upside-down, and backwards it was, but what it was not was soccer or a real game in the true sense of the word.  The important thing though, was that there were 20+ kids that had a great time chasing a ball on a cool Saturday morning.

Here he is, all suited up.  No cleats, but he has the shin guards, and he was given his shirt that morning.  He's part of the "Gray Rays", as the coaches named them.  (I guess "Gray Steelers" was already taken.)

Number 10! We sort of got a chance to pick his number because Micah was one of the first players from his team to arrive.  In the end we opted for just what was given to us.  Tim was pretty happy, as apparently no really big player has that number.  We're already on our way to super-stardom.

Taking the field.  They had a practice prior to the game so the kids could start to get a grasp on fundamental stuff.

The coaches helping him get in line so that he can take his turn kicking the ball.

Yea, Micah!!!

We tried to work on two rules: 1. Don't touch the ball with your hands, and 2. Just try to kick the ball.  We're still working on rule number one.

Team pep talk from Coach Ralph.

What a great throw-in for his first try!!

Liam was checking out the action.  If you look close, you can tell that he's thinking, "I could totally rock this game...

...after I rock my snacks, that is."

He may be grown up enough to play soccer, but he's still a thumb-suckin', bellybutton-lovin' kid at heart.

Until he stops to wave to Mom and Dad, that is!!

At one point, the kid in front of him wants to give him a high-five.  Micah wasn't so into it.

Then we started to lose him to grass, because that's clearly a lot of fun to play with too.

Then he took other kids down with him, even the high-five kid.

Because it's a program through our local YMCA, it's got a spiritual element to it, which we really appreciate.  Here they are saying a prayer before the game started.

Micah had to wait his turn to play so we had a photo op on the sidelines.

Liam was waiting for the action on the field to start as well.

There he goes, ready for the action!!!

Notice all the kids taking off in different directions.  Yeah, this was during the game.

We're still working on rule #2 as well.  When I said, "just try and kick the ball," I really should have specified that he should "just try and kick the ball" on his own field, not the empty one next to him.  Although I have to hand it to Micah - he had a clear shot at that ball!

Trying to get in the mix, fighting his way through the blue team!

Things went a little down hill from there.  Micah got pretty upset when he went in for the second time and realized that, unlike practice, he wasn't going to just get a turn with the ball and the opportunity to kick it without anyone else trying to steal it.  He was pretty upset.

Daddy trying to explain the finer points of the game.

Daddy helped Micah give high-fives at the end of the game.  By that time, he wanted no part of anything soccer-related.  The parents also form a tunnel with their arms that the kids run through when they're done.  None of that either.  He did perk up when the snack was offered, and I think that will be enough to get him back on the field next week.

We think the final score actually was, legitimately (and not just being nice) 3-3.  Or maybe 4-3 in favor of the Gray Rays.  But either way, we know what's most important - Micah had fun (mostly!) and he has started to learn what it means to be part of a team, which is such a valuable lesson even at his young age.  He may end up being more of a t-ball kind of kid, since in t-ball there's a lot more order to the game.  In other words, every kid gets an uninterrupted time at bat, every kid has a place in the field, etc.  But we'll see.  We're just happy that he's getting a great experience.