Gage in U8 Soccer

This turned out to be quite the unusual soccer day for us all.  As with most Saturday's during soccer season, we have a game for Gavin and a game for Gage.  However, Gage got to pull double duty here because most of Gavin's team didn't show up for the game for some reason.  Gage was all suited up in preparation for his game a bit later (as was one of his good friends, Gabe, that plays on his U-6 team), so we just decided to put them in with Gavin's team.  Gage and Gabe both are pretty solid players at their level and, although the kids were a bit bigger, they got right in there and fought for the ball just as they normally would.  The only questionable point was when Coach Gerrid decided to put Gage in goal, which I had to quickly overrule after a minute or two.  Six year olds are just too young to be able to effectively protect themselves from a shot that is coming in and it's a bit dangerous.  Gage had a great time, and I was so proud of him stepping up to help his brother!

After a bit, the rest of Gavin's team trickled in and Gage eventually went back to watching for the second half.  Above, you can see Gavin in goal as I think he had an infected toe for this game and could barely move.  He is probably better out in the field than he is in goal, but he tries real hard.  The funny part is that I think he likes to be in goal, but I think at this age it limits ball skill development too much to spend a considerable amount of time in that position.

Here's a picture of me next to the goal giving Gavin some coaching on goalie skills.  I can't quite tell if he takes in the instruction I am giving or doesn't want to hear it from me.  There is always a fine line to walk when coaching your own kids.  You want to be able to put on "Coach" hat but it's sometimes hard to separate that from the "Dad" hat at the same time.  I am thankful that I have been able to coach his teams for the past few years.