Good job, C!

C was invited to sub as the goalie for a U16 indoor soccer team. She's a pretty good goalie for her U13 select team, but this game would be different. She would be playing against girls who played soccer for their high schools (frosh, jv and varsity). It would definately be a challenge for her, but her coach thought she could handle it.

She did a good job. The other team was VERY GOOD, possibly the best in the league. Their passes were money - almost always hitting their target. They made indoor soccer look easy. They took shots most of the game - only 7 got past C. Of those 7, 3 probably were shots that C should have gotten to and didn't. The rest were really good shots.

C had a blast, diving on balls, jumping to stop them, kicking, catching - it took 3/4 of the game for her to feel comfortable and to pick up on the instructions her teammates would call. For example, in U13 a teammate can't pass the ball to the goalie for the goalie to pick up and punt away. In U16 teammates can perform that move. It took a bit before C was used to the rule change and used it to her team's advantage. They would also call for the goalie to come up and kick the ball out (since C has a strong kick) and they would cover the box.

It was fun to watch and she had a good time. We enjoyed watching her play her game. Granted she was a little rusty and it showed in the opening minutes of the game, but overall she played well. We were and still are proud of her. It took a lot of courage to play with girls several years older, but she wanted to take the chance. We're proud of her for that.

My dear dad took all these pics through the plexiglass walls and worked VERY hard to get them this good. (THANKS, DAD!!!) The originals were quite dark. You should be able to tell how by the end of the game she was on her game! My favorite pic is the top one - it shows just how fearless she can be when playing goalie. Way to go, C!!