Today's Thankfulness has to be a little different today. There is just no other way about it. Daria had a soccer tournament today....and I'm still riding high. So...what to do? Do I not do a Thankful Thursday? Do I do two posts today...one thankful Thursday...and the other soccer stuff? Well...I just decided to combine the two. Could be interesting.
There are not enough descriptive words available to describe how proud I am of my girlie-bird today. I am so sorry that her daddy missed her games today, because they were awesome. She was awesome. She really stepped up to the plate today; and, I don't think that I have ever seen her play better soccer than she did today. What a day!
- Today, I am thankful for a coach who is skilled...as well as encouraging. Daria's coach has really been good for Daria. He has excellent skills...but he also seems to reach the girls and encourage them. Even though they haven't been able to practice much, the team is doing so well and I have really seen Daria improve in her skills. She really showed it today!
- I am thankful for her teammates' parents who spoke words of praise about Daria today after their games. Daria really did shine today. I was so proud that I cried.
- I am thankful that my daughter doesn't seem to crumble under stress. Me, on the other hand, I was a puddle in the stands. She handled herself with confidence and grace. How fun to see her growing and maturing in her abilities and self confidence.
The first game of the day, Daria's team got romped. The other team was just running circles around them. Pitiful. Daria was in tears after the game. I thought it was because they had lost, but apparently she got kicked in the stomach while playing goalie. After a trip to Dutch Bros., she was ready for action.
The second game, they really romped the team that they played. I was glad to see them get a win in because they were so discouraged. That win really seemed to light their fires. The third game, the teams were pretty well matched. Those are fun games to watch. Can be stressful at times....but a lot of fun. The game ended in a tie....and it went to a shoot out.
Talk about a Soccer Mom's nightmare. It is a 5 second one-on-one situation. Hard to describe. The kicker has 5 seconds to try and score on the goalie. Daria, of course, was goalie. I was The Basketcase. Daria did so good! The first round neither team scored. The second round....our team scored...and then Daria totally denied the other team's attempt. I think I just about collapsed!! What a way to win!!! Yee-haw!!
That win put them into playing for first place. Daria's team was only suppose to play for third...but a Newberg team got disqualified for having 3 girls who were 10 years old. That team was incredible. Oh my!! Anyway...back to the story. The game for first place was now against the team that romped Daria's team earlier in the day. I was so bummed. I wanted them to have a fighting chance!!
The girls totally amazed me....all the other parents....themselves...and their coach. They fought so hard. The other team was definitely dominating...because we were pretty much always on the defense. But...wow...our team did soooo good. They held them completely scoreless for the entire 22 minutes of play. The bad thing...it went into another shoot out. I wasn't sure that I could handle the stress!! My throat was so sore from yelling that I couldn't hardly encourage Daria. Our first attempt at the shoot out---wasn't even close. I was so disappointed. Then it was the other team....against Daria. They scored. I didn't realize it was a sudden death shoot out. But, it was. So, Daria's team came in second. But, what a game!!
These words don't begin to describe how good Daria played. She was amazing. She had some incredible plays. I was so proud! (if you hadn't figured that out already!!) She was very discouraged that her team lost. She thought it was all because of her. I had to remind her that if our kicker had made her shot....it wouldn't have ended that way. She did so good. Her coach sent some encouraging emails after the game...and I think that really lifted her spirits. After I read her the last one...she gave me this great big hug.
I think she finally got it!!
To close, I thought I would share her coach's last email:
Words cannot put in place how proud I am, of how all the girls did
today. In an odd twist, they literally got better as the day went on.
They fine tuned, found their fires and would not be denied today, to
earn a very impressive second place. And even in the final game,
after playing 2 games in a row, forced the game into a shoot out!
It doesn't get any better than that.
2 comments:
Wow! Tell Daria I said 'Great Job!'. I did soccer when I was her age and from watching the videos my mom took of my teams games, I know that we weren't nearly that good. We were pretty much a bunch of 8 year olds running a field. Anyways, great job, Daria!
Grrr, stupid typos, I meant running around a field.
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