A few months ago, Papa and Tutu’s neighbor emailed the registration information for the Aiea AYSO league. Lilinoe knows very little about soccer and I even less, but Jayden and Maiyah seemed to be interested so we completed the necessary paperwork and paid the registration fees.
Although they’re only a year apart, Jayden was drafted in the Under 6 and Maiyah belongs to the Under 8 group– besides, the groups are then further separated by gender since there are a lot of children participating. After a very organized parent orientation meeting; a volunteer process to determine coaches, referees, and team parents; and a mutually agreed upon practice days, times, and field we were on our way!
Four (4) practices prior to the first game, and we were having fun. Jayden had to learn a few soccer rules like no touching the ball with your hands while it’s in play, but also the non-rules like no dancing like Michael Jackson while running drills during practice. And, Maiyah? Well she was so excited for her first practice that she wore her soccer clothes, shin guards, and cleats to bed the night before.
The first game was this past Saturday and I walked away with more than a nice tan, I realized that “two babies” were competitive, aggressive little athletes. The blazing sun was their biggest opponent because their mantra once the game was in play was “attack the ball”!
Every Saturday we’ll be at the park, cheering on the Jedis and the Butterflies — life is good!
