(September 6, 2008) This past Saturday (the 6th) marked my debut as a head soccer coach. I had previously been an assistant coach for 4 season with the Under-19 Girls at TYSA (Tucker, GA). When I heard that there would be no U-19 girls team this fall, I welcomed it as a break from coaching, since I pretty much had a full plate with the kids and triathlon training.
With about 2 weeks before the season began, I received a "desperation" call to be a head coach for a U-14 girls team at TYSA. I said sure, since I do have plans to coach at a higher level, perhaps academy level, and this would give me experience. I figured I could make the time. There were 51 girls divided amongst 3 teams, and not knowing anything about the girls, I was left to trust the other 2 coaches who would select their girls and give me whatever was left. It really didn't matter to me, since coaching isn't always about winning, but knowing that the girls learned something new and had fun doing so.
Coaching the U-14 girls proved to be a refreshing change from the U-19 girls. Unlike the U-19's, where maybe half the girls on the team would show up, over 90% of the U-14 girls had shown up for every practice. Granted, even though I was used to girls gossiping amongst themselves, I had to get used to the fact the U-14'did the same thing, only ten times as much! :o) Not having an assistant coach makes things pretty tough. Fortunately, one of my player's mother, Heather Shaver, stepped up as a team mother and offered her help in any way. I am so thankful she did, because it would have been next to impossible to run this team by myself!
Our first game was against another team from TYSA. We would start out slow, and fall 2-0 by half time. They would play valiantly in the 2nd half, scoring a goal, and then barely missing a shot off the post in final seconds, and we would lose 2-1. All the girls played well, and showed improvement in the 2nd half.
to view the pictures taken by the Team Mom (and my right hand) Heather Shaver.
Christian has quite a few friends at his school. He knows all their names but has one friend in particular, a 4 year-old girl named Maya. Christian tells us she's his only friend, and when you see him on the playground, you usually see her. They make it a point for me to push the both of them on the swing when Reagan and I arrive to pick up Christian at 1:30. They are so cute together! They genuinely enjoy each others company! Reagan acts as if she's one of the students at the playground. She is not shy one bit! She does her own thing, and is usually in charge wherever she is, and usually gets very dirty in the process. 
