Fall soccer is here

Last night was the first game of the fall soccer season for Cole. This is his third season of soccer at First Baptist Church of New Tampa. The church league has grown substantially since Cole's first season last year. In fact, there was a line around the church on registration day and the league was filled within an hour.

In each of the first two seasons, Cole was very shy around his new coach and teammates at first. I expected more of the same this year, as I have always been the same way. However, Cole didn't seem to care that he was playing for a new coach, or that he didn't know any of the kids. During the practice on Thursday, he ran right up to the coach and started to talk to him. Then he proceeded to play with the kids on the team, as if he'd known them for a long time. I'm very proud that he is making progress on this front.

We've been sending Cole to soccer at his school since June and I was curious if he was learning anything from the program. I now have no doubt that the school program is helping Cole. He seems to have a better understanding of what the object of the game is, and most importantly he can take a hit, get back up, and run around some more. Last night, Cole did a lot of running around, and a little bit of soccer playing. He was having fun. Now we just need to get him to "engage" throughout the rest of the season.