Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

I mentioned before, my elation that Zach is finally old enough to sideline soccer and hit the gridiron. Before the beginning of football season, he was pretty excited too. In fact, I think it very well could have been catastrophic had I not found a team for him to join.

After weeks of lollygagging in the backfield, running sideways-out of bounds, dropping balls and basically counting butterflies, we were beginning to think maybe Zach was a bit more of a book worm than an athlete. Sure, there were flashes of brilliance, but it was far outweighed by goofing around and generally daydreaming.

I will never pressure my kids to participate in something they do not want to, and will be their biggest fan for those they do . HOWEVER, there is always the expectation that they try their best and always finish what they begin. There was zero chance we would pull him out. Each game and practice was followed by lengthy discussions about football strategy that never materialized. He knew exactly what to do and when, he just didn't feel like it. And then, behold, the final game the kid was practically out for the Heisman in comparison to his performance the rest of the season. Go figure, after all the goofing all season, I didnt have my telephoto prepared for some good shots, so i had to make due with the little camera which i happened to have in my purse. I missed most of the good action bc i was too busy screaming him into the endzone.

They played the season closing game under the lights, a momentous occasion for a 5 year old.

Our good friends had given Zach a pair of authentic, kid-sized football gloves, which we had only used to practice at home. Under most circumstances, they could certainly be deemed an unfair advantage, what with the space-age-sticky-mystery-plasm coated palms and all. But, considering that over the past few weeks, the ball appeared to be lathered with a fresh layer of spit polished Turtle Wax and wet soap when thrown to Zach, we opted to let him wear them this last game. And WOW...He played his heart out. Touchdowns, catches, and even REAL offensive blocking for the other runners!

taking the ball from coach for touchdown run #1

WIDE open for catch/touchdown #2

Not sure if it was the lights, the gloves, the prospect it was finally over,.... who cares. Glad we went out on a good note.

SO proud of his trophy, and extra elated it had his name on it.