The Thrill Of Victory

As our son's competitive soccer team played in a weekend tournament some 70 miles from home, our family made adjustments so that we could support his passion for his club, his team and his favorite sport while also balancing the schedules of our other three kids.  With two soccer games on Saturday, 70 miles from home, our oldest daughter playing in her school volleyball tournament and our younger daughter with a school fundraiser in the morning followed by an afternoon birthday party, our plate was full.

My husband took off on Saturday morning with little Mr. Soccer and his brother, Buck. Two boys and their dad setting out for a day at the park.  The girls and I headed to school for Sierra's fundraiser and Audra's end-of-the-season volleyball tournament. Much to Audra's chagrin, her team suffered an unexpected loss in the first round and was immediately eliminated, ending their season in one ugly felswoop. There were lots of tears rolling down the faces of her teammates as they sulked over to their parents. The mom next to me quietly admitted that she was relieved to have the season completed and I tried to hide my smile while sipping my Starbucks. No more 6 AM practices, driving Audra to school in my jammies while chugging my coffee. I pretended to look disappointed.

Sierra enjoyed raising money for her school honor society by selling other people's junk and washing other people's cars. I wonder what it means that I did not let them wash mine. They had a ball and after three hours of volleyball and fundraising, we left for lunch - one girl with a smile and one with a frown. My husband texted and shared the great news from his side of the world, Colton's team won the game 4-0 and Colton scored a goal. Woo hoo, I cheered.

I love to watch my son play soccer and it kills me to miss his games. I love to watch all our kids play their games. Colton has LOVED soccer from the moment he started playing, when he was five. Before the season last year, someone spoke to us about moving him from the rec league to our home church's large club program, which was competitive and close to home. We made the move in the summer of '08 and Colton has absolutely loved the program, the professional training, the travel and the high level of competition. He no longer dominates as he did in the rec league, but he is surrounded by 10 other boys who are also extremely competitive and share the same passion. I was sad to have missed his team's big Saturday morning win and as some time passed, I found myself really wanting to make the long drive out to watch the late afternoon game. A friend, who was hosting the party Sierra attended, offered to keep her for a while when it was over so that I could run across town to watch the soccer game. Another win for his team meant a Sunday morning game the next day.

Sunday has always been the Lord's day for our family. Having a Sunday morning soccer game really changed the dynamics for us. With our church having four services each weekend, we could normally change and attend a Saturday service instead. But, with the soccer schedule this weekend, that wasn't possible. So Wade and little Mr. Soccer took off early Sunday morning for the third game while the three kids and I got ready for church. Just as I was walking into worship, my phone beeped with a text from my husband, GOAL COLTON AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. WINNING 3-0. I was bummed to miss his big moment, but glad to have made the choice to put God first. 

Sunday after church, the kids and I loaded up our dog, Lily, and headed out for the final soccer game of the day. Colton's team was undefeated in tournament play and qualified for the finals. I was so glad that I could be there for the "big" game and the boys played fantastic. It was a nail-biter, but they pulled off a 3-2 victory. Who doesn't love the exuberant faces of young champions as they celebrate the thrill of athletic victory?