A Georgia Girl in Germany

After a two-year hiatus from her soccer days in San Antonio, MacKenzie decided she wanted to play again. Her team this year was the Patch Foxes, and consisted of a new group of kids. When I say new, I mean new to me...she knew most of the kids--I didn’t. Her team was also co-ed, so I had to catch myself from cheering for “the girls.” Granted, there were only four boys on the team.


She was a little hesitant the first couple times she got out on the field, but that’s to be expected after such a long lapse in playing. As a result, she ended up playing defense more often than not. The catch was, when she played defense, she seemed to tether herself to the chalk line denoting the edge of the penalty box. She ran her heart out... parallel to that line... but always keeping her eye on the ball.


Her second game was the wettest of the season. The first quarter was hazy and overcast, the second was marked by a slight drizzle, and the third brought a near-torrential downpour. At the first sound of thunder (indicating nearby lightning), the game was called. Fortunately, they had played enough to count as a game. The downside was that the boys and I had bundled ourselves up so well with our three folding chairs, two umbrellas and a large beach blanket to cover up with, that we ended up taking a while to pack everything up and get back to the van. Yes, we also had the camera bag and a drink bag to lug as well!

MacKenzie really enjoyed playing goalie. I don’t think she practiced before her first game wearing the long-sleeve jersey, but she liked that it was different. She was a little hesitant to fall on the ball as the opponents neared, and as a result had four goals scored against her in her quarter at the position. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to phase her.



Other times, she’d get distracted during the game. After all, she is still 8. I’m not sure who she was talking to in this photo at left. She claimed her arms were cold in the photo below (but the ball was in the opposite direction from where she was looking!).



After a while, she moved up to playing offense... which she loved! It was like night and day watching her play offense compared to defense. She hustled! She ran! She was aggressive! She even took two shots on goal!!! Neither went in, but that didn’t matter--she was right there ready to make the play.


You can’t see it as well in the photo below, but she and Benjamin have the same style of kicking: tongue sticking out for concentration!


She did better during her turn at goalie during the playoff games (again, only one quarter). Actually, her team did better, and managed to keep the ball mostly on the other end of the field. That quarter, she only had one goal scored against her. In the true spirit of youth soccer, one of her good friends scored the goal against her... and as they walked side-by-side off the field after the game Sammy commented, “I shot that goal against you.” To which MacKenzie replied, “I know.” They both had smiles on their faces, and that was the end of the discussion.


More tongue-action-concentration going on here and below. At least she’s consistent!


We weren’t sure if the weather would hold for the entire playoff schedule (three half-games per team, spaced out over three and a half hours), but it did, and the season was over. MacKenzie’s team had a perfect record: 0-5. Fortunately, they measured success by how many goals they scored: one game with 1, another game with 2, and one final goal in a playoff round. They didn’t seem phased or disheartened by their record, and enjoyed the season... which is all that matters.

Labels: MacKenzie