Life Lessons

Carli's winning shot! 

     The week after school got out, Carli had competitive soccer tryouts AND a soccer tournament. It was a local tournament so we didn't have to travel anywhere, which was nice, but she was really nervous! They won their first 2 games easily, which meant only 1 more game to make it to the finals. It was a NM team that we heard were REALLY good! We told Carli that it doesn't matter if they won as long as she played her hardest. She was AMAZING!! These NM girls were not only much bigger (they were older, U12 team) but much more aggressive. Luckily, by half-time we were still tied 0-0. About 8 minutes into the 2nd half, Carli took the ball down the sideline, tricked everyone out by  taking a left-footed shot (she's left footed), and scored a goal!! It was like the Olympics! The crowd went absolutely wild and tears came to my eyes listening to everyone cheering for my girl! Even Carli said it was "so exciting" hearing the crowd and her team screaming for her goal :)
     BUT we had a problem...the NM girls were NOT happy! Carli's goal made them even more aggressive! 3 of our girls were carried off the field after being pushed, shoved, steam-rolled, and cart-wheeled across the field. We have never watched a more physical team. We kept asking the line judge, "Is it time yet?" "Is the game about over?" We couldn't wait for this intense game to be done! The ref finally blew the whistle...They won 1-0 all because of Carli's goal! The NM girls immediately burst into tears and we were wondering why they were so emotional. We found out after the game that they hadn't lost in over 40 games!! Crazy! We were so excited for Carli and her team. They made it to the finals, but unfortunately they didn't win the final championship game. They lost 2-1. Carli played great (in fact, she scored the one goal) but her teammates never passed her the ball :( We think they wanted to score the goal, and that's okay. It was a wonderful experience for her and a good preparation for her competitive tryouts.
     Tryouts were also very scary for her. We found out on the 2nd day of tryouts that instead of having separate Premier teams (that's the top team) for each age group, they were going to combine them into just one Premier team. That meant that Carli didn't have as good a chance of making it because she would be competing against the older girls for those spots. Now WE were nervous too! But Carli worked so hard and did a great job! We got a phone call the evening that tryouts were over to tell us that Carli made the Premier team for 11-12 year olds...as a 9 year old!! It was such a compliment to her and her playing abilities! We know it is a huge commitment, but she absolutely loves it! Soccer has been a great way for our girls to learn life lessons. When things get tough, you have the ability to push through it. You have the power to succeed inside of you if you try hard enough. We are looking forward to watching her and her team play in the upcoming year. We are so proud of her! Congratulations Carli!!