Soccer Fun...

Here are some latest videos from soccer

Weekend Activities...

We had a very busy weekend - Alexander did a great job with all of the different activities but more importantly he had a blast!

Saturday
Saturday morning started with soccer in the morning.  I don't know what was different about this week but all 4 boys did a really good job - both with listening and with the actual drills.  Alexander actually had a solid 30 minutes of good drills, good ball handling, good technique. 
After soccer, Daddy & Alexander went to cousin Michael's birthday party.  It was an indoor playplace where the kids played on jumpees & played on soccer turf.  Then they all sang Happy Birthday to Michael.  From there, Alexander & Daddy went back to uncle Matt's house to hang out with everyone for a while before they went to cousin Nick's football game.
Alexander & Daddy stayed for all of the game as Alexander really likes watching Nick play football.  His voice was a bit hoarse from being outside in the chill air - let's hope he doesn't get sick!

Sunday
Sunday was another busy day!  Sunday morning was a relaxing morning, playing Wii with Daddy.  (For the record, on Mommy's morning Alexander woke at 5:30a; on Daddy's morning he woke at 7am)  They then went apple picking with the rest of the family for a few hours. 
Daddy & Alexander came home and then it was the time Alexander has been talking about for 4 days - Cassie was coming over!  Mommy had a baby shower and Daddy was going to the Patriots game, so Cassie came over to watch Alexander for a few hours.  He was so excited.  Cassie & Alexander went to a nearby park, where they also met up with another teacher from school and her daughter.  Cassie said they played baseball and the two kids ran and ran and ran.  They got home right before Mommy did.
Then Mommy & Alexander cuddled on the couch and watch the rest of the Patriots game - where the Patriots won and we did our own little dance!  The little guy was asleep pretty quickly tonight!

GOAL....

Coach is showing Alexander & his friends how to celebrate a goal in soccer....and of course Alexander slides on the ground at the end

Soccer Star....

Alexander started soccer today for the 2nd season!  He loves it.  I'm hoping he enjoys himself but also does well.  Last year he was in class with three other friends and there was lots of not listening/extra running when they should have been listening to their coaches.

This year, he's improving with his listening skills and he doesn't have anyone he knows in this class.  In fact, there are only two other boys in the class.  Maybe this means they'll get a bit more one on one.

And besides a little bit of not following direction as to when to take his turn, he did well on his first class.  Plus, he also might think he's the next Karate Kid!

Big Kick...

Big Kick for Alexander as he finishes up his first soccer class of the season...

Soccer Season...

Soccer has officially ended for Fall 2010...and it went out with a small whimper!

Only Alexander & Connor showed up for the whole class, and another boy came in for the last 20 minutes. Therefore, Alexander & Connor pretty much had the gym to themselves and made the FOUR coaches work on keeping up with them.The boys did a lot of running and not a lot of listening! However there was one drill that Alexander did very well, technically. If only he could listen more, he'd be fantastic!

Soccer Fun...

Here's the weekly video from Soccer...

He did a good job this week at listening to Coach Chip and actually participating in the drills!

Soccer Videos....

Soccer videos

Soccer Saturday....

Alexander had a great Soccer Saturday...he listened to Coach Chip! He did his drills the way he was taught! He kept his crazy running around to a minimum!Both Mommy & Coach Chip were very proud of his listening & behavior!

Soccer Class...

This week's soccer class did not go as well as the previous ones...
Alexander wanted to run and not pay attention to Coach Chip. Not only that, he & Aidan seemed to hit/push each other as well. This prompted Coach Chip to give both boys a timeout.

He held them aside while the rest of the class did a drill. He made them watch the drill and said to both of them: "Do you see everyone having fun? It's sad not to be there, right? This is why you have to listen to Coach Chip."

Kudos to Coach Chip for laying down the law...

After class, Coach Chip came to talk to both Aidan's dad & myself about the boys. We agreed with him and that we need to all work together. I did explain that it probably doesn't help make it any easier that the boys go to school together and are very familiar with each other.

Needless to say, next week Alexander will have a tight lease on him to make sure he listens.

Weekly Soccer Fun...

Soccer Videos

Here are a couple videos from this weeks' soccer class:

Soccer Drills


Wrapping up class with our song

Soccer Videos - Week Four...

Here are a couple videos from this week at soccer ... for the record, Alexander was not necessarily focused on kicking the ball or anything else that had to do with soccer. He more just wanted to run around than anything...

Running


Soccer Drill followed by running

Soccer Videos...Week Three

Here are the weekly soccer videos for Week 3

Weekly Drill:


Super Soccer Star:


Little soccer kicks:

Soccer Fun...Week Two

Alexander had his 2nd soccer class this week & had a blast! For some reason there felt like there were less kids this week but they all still had fun!

This week Coach Chip, Coach Priya & Coach Cali all took the kids to the proverbial soccer jungle!

The kids got to run around, score some goals & even learned their first soccer position! At one point, Coach Chip had them running around a circle and I thought for sure Alexander was going to lap them all because when given permission, that boy can sure run fast!

Soccer Videos...Week Two

Here are a few videos, as promised, from Week Two of Soccer:

Doing their first soccer position:


Running around:



Alexander's soccer drill:

Our Super Soccer Star...

Today, Alexander started soccer!
He was so excited (he woke up at 4:30am but thankfully fell back to sleep at 5:15am until 7a). Once we got there he kept looking around for Connor & Aidan, he could hardly contain himself!

Soccer was very cute & very well handled! Coach Chip is excellent with the kids...he had them sit together, learn a song, do some warm-ups and then a few drills. The kids had a blast!

Here is Veronica, Connor, Aidan & Alexander (and two other kids)And this is the drill where the kids were learning how to flip the cones up from their sides. Coach Chip was helping Alexander out

Soccer...

Today was Alexander's first soccer class!

He was very excited & ready to play. He did a great job listening to Coach Chip when he gave directions of sitting, getting the balls, & singing the super soccer stars song!

There were several moments were Alexander would yell out the answer or make a funny comment. It had some parents laughing which makes me think that my son will be voted class-clown or most enthused!

One thing we need to work on with him & hopefully the class will help is continuing instructions. A couple times Coach Chip asked them to put the balls into the goal or how to flip up the cones...Alexander would go over and kick the ball in, or work on flipping up a cone and once he was done he would start to run around rather than trying it again. We have to work on the repetitive concepts.

Overall a great time & the kids had a blast...below are a few videos

Alexander going through his little drill:


Super Soccer Stars:


Here the kids had to get the "crabs" and put them back in their homes...Alexander mostly ran around and then decided to slide instead:

It's Official...

Alexander will be our soccer star!

We signed him up for a soccer league this fall - his first official team sport! He'll play every Saturday for the entire fall; the league starts in September and goes through December which is pretty cool it lasts that long.

The best part is that both Aidan & Connor will be in the same session so he'll get to play soccer with them. Maybe it will help the three of them learn when they should and shouldn't run.

I love the description of the class format:

Our class format is developed to give our budding soccer stars a familiar framework in which they can excel from class to class. Our classes begin with a welcome, incorporating a song for the younger age groups (ages 2 – 5) and a cheer for the older ages (Kindergarten and up). The classes then kick off with stimulating warm-up games followed by a muscle-warming stretch to get everyone ready for action. The bulk of each class focuses on skill-building activities and games. Individual, partner, and group activities are introduced in a non-competitive environment to optimize the experience for each child. Every session culminates in a scrimmage game (adapted variations for younger age groups) to familiarize each child with the structure of a game setting, while always encouraging our young kickers with positive reinforcement.