Comeback Kid

Good evening everyone! Busy week with some much-needed and deserved time off. Wednesday, we took Mia out trick or treating one last time for the year in Waukesha where my parents live. Not the warmest weather but Mia braved a cute little outfit without sleeves. She's either acclimated to the cold temps, or just doesn't care when it comes to candy hunting. She had a great time going house to house and it was an overall fun night out. Thursday was my usual time off so I started to work on some of our book for Mia's Christmas book. Later I had some art lessons. Micah and Gigi. Gigi went first and we worked on a baby Moana sketch. She did awesome. Micah had some struggling moments with her Dobbie sketch but she'll get it worked out. I met 3 new students that are eager to start new art lessons. It's going to be a lot of fun working with more kids that are passionate about art.

This week, my father in law burned us a copy on both the computer and a physical disc of the last match, so we have a permanent copy of Mia's goal. Because it had went to fast on that day, I didn't quite catch how she got the ball and got it in so it was fun to see the how Ainslee cleared the ball out, Sophie snagged it from the opponent, passed it directly to Mia and she outran one of their players to blast it on the left side of the net. She did a slight jump and was ready to restart and try to get another goal. I've literally watched the video clip 30 times. Every time, better than the last.  So incredibly proud of her. She was so timid last season and this year finished strong with pure confidence. What a comeback for her. She's looking forward to next season alongside her BFF. It'll be a new challenge that both of us as well as my loyal assistant Coach Kevin. 

Friday, I helped out with her Fall party. I ran a little candy corn race in the hallway. The kids were crazy but a lot of fun. Later after the park, Mia and I walked home and she packed up her bag for a sleepover with Cecilia. They had pizza and pasta from Mama Mia's (yum!) and we hung out and chatted with her parents till later in the evening. Mia and Cecilia watched The Emoji Movie and passed out and fell asleep in the living room. We ran some errands in the morning including dropping off the soccer gear before picking up the diva. She had a blast playing with Cecilia in the morning after chocolate chip pancakes. The kids hugged goodbye and we were off on our way. We did some yard work later after Mia and Jill went to an arts and crafts fair. 

 Earlier in the week, we made an attempt to dye her hair with some stuff from Target. It didn't work at all and the purple was pretty light so later Saturday, we found some Manic Panic vegan purple hair dye. Manic Panic was standard in punk rock hair dye, and pretty much every punk rock fan or musician that dyed their hair used it. It's apparently actually good for hair. Neat. Anyways, after she washed it last night, we let it dry overnight and Jill dyed it this morning. Turned out super bright and vibrant. She LOVES it. I watched the Chelsea vs Palace match. 3-1 win to the good guys. Morata has been on fire lately and I hope he can continue his strong form. In between halves, I helped Jill start our big project of painting our cabinets and trim. It's going to look so nice when it's all done.

This week, I've gotta vote, I've got plenty of art to accomplish and we have Mia's conference. We're stoked that both Jill and I can go for the first time ever. She's got a super sweet 2nd grade teacher so it'll be nice that we both get to go and hear how awesome our kid is :P Friday, she has a field trip to the Betty Brinn and she's pretty excited for that one too. That's all for now, thanks for reading! 

Spooky Times & Soccer in Sleet

Good evening everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. Been some weird weather but so what else is new. I took on a challenge to create some realistic food sketches that for the most part, worked out. The last day of the drawings, I literally threw away 4 sketches that didn't work. Frustrated, but I somehow finished it and was glad it was over. Working with toned paper and trying to nail realistic food drawings can be tricky. Toned paper isn't forgiving. You make too many erase marks, and it starts to wear out. Thursday, Mia requested I join her for lunch. REALLY? Alright. So I met up with her and her crazy friends. They all wanted to sit next to Mia. Not sure if that had anything to do with me being there, but it was a good time.

We went out for recess and all of them wanted to know what we were doing. Mia spent a lot of time trying to find BFF Cecilia. Eventually, I spotted her playing soccer with a bunch of kids. Mia joined in and I helped. It was pure chaos. The boys were insane. They'd run the ball in hands, put it down in front of a line of unfortunate kids at the net and blast it. The ball wasn't like a regular soccer ball. It was very light so when you kick it, it's going to travel very quickly. One of her friends Hayden got blasted in the stomach. A few tears and she was okay. Someone else took one as well. I told Mia today that come Monday, her and Cecilia should just grab a ball and go practice by themselves for their last game. Later, we had a soccer practice and actually had a complete team. The girls weren't listening at times, but other they were fine. They were all feeling good going into our next match.

Friday was the annual Star Trek to pickle pond. I volunteered to help. Not the best day for the trek, but the kids had fun. They did an obstacle course and played on the playground while it rained. Yuck. They didn't seem to mind and had an awesome time. Saturday morning was the return of Soccer Saturday.  I got up nice and early to watch Chelsea take on Man U. An early lead, and they were looking great. Man U's Pogba was awful the first half and after our goal, I thought we had them. 2nd half, they tied us and got another goal to pull ahead. Luckily, Barkley got the equalizer and we picked up a point. Frustrating but entertaining match.

Later, Mia and the Cheetahs took on her good friends Charlie and Tenley at 12:30. We also found out her long time BFF from pre-school Olivia was on their team. Crazy. It was our first match in a few weeks (due to all the cancellations) so I didn't know how great we'd be. The weather was godawful. Heavy winds, sleat/snow and freezing temps were not playing in our favor. A lot of the kids were out of sorts playing in the cold temps. The Lady Badgers caught Ainslee out a few times and picked up 2 goals on us. Ugh. Our kids kept trampling over each other, and not getting ahead of their defense. 2nd half, they had a hands in the box so we were rewarded a PK. Mia made the attempt and shot it straight at her friend Charlie. Damn. If I would have got her to take a running start and shoot, she would have had a better chance of getting her first goal. Luckily, Ainslee picked up one for us and the crowd went crazy. I don't know why, but it always seems like we have a lot more supporters than the other team. A few more chances but we just couldn't equalize. They had a PK on our end and their biggest kid took a blast at our wall of a keeper Sofia and she stopped her with ease. The funny thing is, that she didn't even want to play goalie but said "okay, I'll do it" pretty easy and had a great cleat sheet the 2nd half. Not the result we wanted but the kids still had fun. ONE last game left. Can we pull off a win? I certainly hope so. It's been such a frustrating season. While some players are doing pretty well, others just lack the focus to A-pass the ball, B-not run into fellow teammates, and C-LISTEN! Mia's been the hardest on herself lately and I have to figure out how to get her to listen more. She played very well, but sometimes backs off too much on the ball.

Later, Jill and I went to our friends Kat and Gregg's annual Halloween party dressed as Snape and Trixxxy the witch (Jill's made up character) Plenty of drinks and fun with old friends and like always, met some pretty awesome new people. We picked up Mia and went home. We watched a weird movie on Netflix before heading off to bed. Today, I didn't get much accomplished before work, but when I got home, it appears they took off all the cabinet doors to start the new project.

This week, hopefully a practice, some drums (maybe) and our last game. Trick or treating is Sunday so I've got an early day. We'll have to find time to carve pumpkins as well. That's all for now, thanks for reading

Apple of My Irony

Good evening everyone. Been a busy end of September, so let's get right to it. The majority of the week I've been working to get my car situation under control and figured out. Originally they wanted to total it, but I got a call that they want to attempt to fix it and if they can't repair the quarter panel, it'll be considered total. Meanwhile I'll get my rental car this Tuesday and will at least be able to drive legally.

Thursday, I attended recess and lunch with Mia. She was so stoked I joined her and her friends also had fun. They did jump rope at recess so I got to meet a few new friends. Later,  we had practice. The kids were riding high off their big victory, but we still had work to do on space and passing. I had the concept to work on passing between two players with one defender attacking them. We had to set up cones so they didn't cross over and be on top of each other. Sorta worked, but we'll have to work on it at the next practice.

Friday night, I came home to a house full of Jill's friends. Leanne and Jacqui plus Caleb were here. Mia and Caleb tried to sleep in the living room while the other two where in our bed. I slept downstairs the with kids and Jill joined them. Mia couldn't get comfortable so she ended up sleeping on top of me. Great. We woke up early and she got ready for her Picture Day for soccer. Always a hectic event. Had a few late arrivals and a few out of dress but we got them suited up and all the kids looked cute. Then, it was off to the fields!

We got an early lead on the Flamingos with Adalyn getting her 7th goal of the season. Things were looking good. I tried to prep my girls who were going in for subs about space and passing and at the time, they said they got it. The starting lineup was bunching and it was a bit frustrating because we just explained about creating space. The Flamingos got one back and it was 1-1. Damn. The subs went in and we were back in action. Mia was desperately trying to get some chances to score, but kept backing off the ball. Cecilia strangely enough was too at times, which would let them come in on Sofia in goal. Finally, we got our 2nd goal. Adalyn found the net again totaling 8 goals for the season and two for the match. They got one back and it was tied again 2-2 in the 2nd half. Ainslee came off her line trying to kick it instead of pouncing on it and they got it back. Mia had an incredible breakaway shot way too early and wasn't able to pull a goal back for us which would have got us ahead. DAMN. They caught Ainslee out one more time and got the last goal of the game giving us a 2-3 at FT. We were pretty even with them and could have easily got a win if they'd create space and pass more. Mia had a great throw in as well. SO close. Oh well. Much to work on and hopefully everyone will be on the same page. On a positive note, Chelsea beat Liverpool early in the week knocking them out of the Carabaeo Cup and ended up getting a draw Saturday against the Reds. We'll take it. Hazard was a beast in both games.

Later we did apple picking and a corn maze with Jill's crew. They went out to for wine and sushi while I hung out with the kids eating Dominos and watching Big Hero 6. All in all, great weekend.

This week, practice, hopefully get my car fixed and a late game for the Cheetahs. We play an undefeated team so I'm not thrilled about that match. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

U-Turn

What a week it's been. As I type this, I'm watching Chelsea take on West Ham(they unfortunately drew) this morning reflecting on one of the most intense weeks this month. Here we go. Most of the week went as normal. Mia dragging herself to school etc etc. My day off on Thursday can go down as the worst one this year. The morning started out with a torrential downpour. Great. I monitored the rain most the day till it about stopped. I knew the fields would be pretty rough, and the mosquito's this week were absolutely terrible so the added rain would only make things worse, so unfortunately I had to cancel. My DJI Spark drone FINALLY arrived so I was stoked to get to play with that and teach myself how to fly it.

Later in the morning I had a vet appt with Remi. Just a normal update on some shots. On our drive back home, I got in my first car accident. A short woman driving a large semi-truck tried to pull a U-turn and clipped the back end of my Corolla. Remi got tossed to the ground but somehow we survived. The woman claimed she never saw me and thought maybe I was speeding. No, I wasn't speeding. The fact that you tried to do a U-turn with a semi truck into traffic probably wasn't the smartest idea. My tail light is busted (but still works) and I have  gnarly dent with a scrape on the side of my sad Toyota. When I got home, still shook up, I had to call insurance, Jill and as well as talk to a specialist about getting my claim taken care of. Can't believe I got hit. Luckily my car is still drivable but I hope to get it fixed when I can. After school I did an art lesson with one of my students. She was struggling a bit with a horse sketch that she was giving as a gift so Mia and I after school went over and I helped her our. Mia drew a picture of her dog Elsa. Later, we did Stonefire Pizza with Jill since we didn't have practice.

Saturday was the big game. Our 3rd game of the season. It was a day we really really needed to improve in skills and win. I requested all of the kids arrive early so we could get in a last minute practice before kickoff since ours was cancelled this week. We started out with running drills, some 1v1 and finally I introduced a new formation. This would debut having RW and LW (or right wing/left wing) on each side of the striker, with a holding center back. The goal was to keep them spaced out. Makes sense right? Opening few minutes, they were starting to bunch up. Come on guys...Early in the half, we scored! I can't remember who got the first one, but the bench and fans went crazy. We haven't had a lead yet this season so it was awesome. Next thing I know, Olivia scored not one but TWO goals. She was in pure shock that her face was grinning from ear to ear. Even Ainslee, who's found the net a few times proudly amped her up with a big hug. Sofia was solid in the back with the keeper without much worry. Cecilia had an incredible 1st half in the back and never let her down. Ainslee found the net before the 1st half concluded. 2nd half, we switched keepers. Ainslee was eager to take on her favorite position and I was excited to see how Sofia would do this half on the field. Just like I hoped, she got a goal. Perfect throw in to her, she spun it around and shot it that went off one of the other player's back and over the short keeper's shoulder. Amazing!

Sophie would also find the net for the very first time as well. She's always been a one-to-watch for me. She's very quick and has a good understanding where to be on the pitch. She can dribble around people like Adalyn so it was only a matter of time before she got her first goal. One of the other shocking goals besides Olivia's double goals was Charley. She was playing in only her 2nd game ever and found the net for the first time. She was so excited. One of the most enjoyable moments of the 2nd half was watching Ainslee dive and roll after every single ball. Her parents told me earlier in the season that she watches a lot of Hope Solo videos (the USWNT goalie) for inspiration. You can tell she loves the position and just like Sophie, she had a cleat sheet as well. The final score was a commanding 8-0. The girls were SO excited that they finally won a game. They were communicating well and passing better. Mia was both excited and bummed. She was stoked she won but still couldn't get a goal. one of the hardest part of being coach in general, is that every single person wants to play. No one wanted to go out ever. Cecilia was even giving her Dad a bit of attitude that she had to sit out to give Jana a chance in the defense. She also really did well both in the back and on the wing. After the match concluded, the girls tackled each other in a big massive team hug. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen as a coach and as a parent. So much excitement from these kids. Everyone happy and stoked for their next game. I'm also glad my parent supporters were patient with these girls and I knew eventually, we could turn this team around and start getting some goals. I was pretty happy that one of my students and her Mom came to cheer us on as well. The rest of the day, we hung out, hand lunch and cleaned the house in preparation for the upcoming weekend with Jill's friends.

 Hopefully my car gets fixed this week and after the game/picture day, we're going to the Elegant Farmer with Jill's crew. Should be a busy but fun weekend. That's all for now, thanks for reading!!

Skills to Improve

Good morning everyone. As Mia sleeps in this beautiful Sunday morning, I figured I'd get a blog in before getting stuck at work the rest of the day. This was Mia's first full week of school. She's not getting up at 6:30am anymore. Back to the 7:00am roll out of bed. Still loves school and her teacher, just doesn't get up as early as that first week. Minus a few problems with a certain kid in her class, everything seems to be going well.

We had a very not-productive practice Thursday. I only say that because the girls weren't very motivated to learn from their mistakes of last weeks game, and try to fix a few things. We started with a 1v1 challenge which in theory could have worked. We did a scrimmage like usual. Everyone wanted to play keeper for some reason. We started to see some improvement with Ainslee in goal as well as Addy's dribbling. This modest player can get around just about anyone and she proved that Saturday morning.

I watched Chelsea beat Cardiff 4-1 before our match. We had our 2nd game of the season at 11:15. When we arrived, a lot of the players were already there warming up. Without my assistant coach, I was riding solo, just like I did all season. I started Sofia in goal and she was phenomenal. Despite letting a few goals in, this kid never backs down and jumps on anything that comes her way. The Jaguar Gummy Girls got a few on us, but we got one back. It had to by Adalyn getting her 4th goal. I don't know why, but it appeared we had way more fans than the other team because after she scored, there was an eruption of cheers from the sidelines. We finally got one back and hopefully could build on the momentum. At that moment, their coach was LIVID that his team let one slip by. He was screaming at his kids and post-game, I had some family members telling me how rough he was. Dude, you're WINNING settle down. They're just kids. We weren't done yet however. Ainslee got her 1st goal of the season, and immediately after when I thought she was going to do her celebratory cartwheel, she just turned and smiled at me. The heat was too much for this kid to do her cartwheel. 2-4 was the final score. It was a tough game, but we had some variables that weren't in our favor. Charley returned after a 2 week absence and we tried Olivia in goal for the very first time. She did mostly okay, but at one point I heard a parent yell "you can USE your hands!" Charley was lost in her first game, mainly because she's never played before and doesn't know the formality of a soccer game. She'll catch up and improve this week. We tried a new formation and I think for the most part it really worked. Cecilia was the solo defender in the back and she had a really solid 2nd half. Totally proud of the pint-size attacking defender. She had a great run with the ball towards the end of the game before it went out. Mia was stoked her friend Hayden had come and watched Cecilia and her play Saturday. Always nice when your friend cheers you on.

After the game, we grabbed some lunch in downtown Waukesha with Jill's family and just sorta chilled out for the remainder of the day. Today. Jill's at church so in a bit I'm going to wake up Mia.

This week, nothing special going on. We'll have our practice Thursday and another match Saturday. Much to improve but we'll get better.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Back to the Grind

Good evening everyone. About a day behind but it was a busy week so yeah..catching up today. Here we go. Last Tuesday was her first day of 2nd grade. She woke up at 6:30 AM ready to go! She did the same thing on Wednesday as well. How does my kid wake up early? She was super excited for school and because I took the day off Tuesday, I got to hear how great it was. She loved they did math with gummy worms :P It was great to reunite with her friends at lunch and recess as well (of course Cecilia). She seems to have balanced everything out nicely in that department. Going into 2nd grade, she wasn't thrilled not to have her BFF in her class, but she knew she'd see her at lunch and recess, so she was okay with that, plus she gets to hang out with her friend Charlie and Ryan during class time that she befriended in Kindergarten. Awesome. Plus, she really really likes her teacher so that's awesome as well. I helped out Jill for a few hours at a school before heading back home for the day. Later, I had to run and pick up some extra backup socks

Thursday, Jill had an early day so I helped her pack up her car and off she went to a Picture Day at another school. I stupidly thought "hey, I'll get a bit more sleep before getting Mia up". My alarm never went off and I woke up at 7:50am. That meant I had about 30 minutes to get Mia to school. She woke up quick, had her breakfast and we were ready to roll. Phew. Never want to do that again. We had practice later in the soggy field. The whole week, we got rain every single day so I didn't know what was the field going to be like. Like I pictured, it was pretty bad. We didn't even use the goal because that section of the field was just a swamp. Jana, one of our players's Dad referred to it as the "swimming pool". We set up about 15 feet away from the field some cones as makeshift goals and had a scrimmage. The kids did fine and we had some great goalies and standout goal scorers which gave me and my assistant coach Kevin confidence going into our first game. We did a team huddle and a 1,2,3 CHEETAHS before calling it a day. Later, we went to Stonefire and took advantage of their new promo before heading home and calling it a night. Friday Mia finally let Jill change her earrings. It was an ordeal. but we had to do it because it's mandatory for soccer games.

Saturday was the big game. Mia slept in her uniform all fired up and ready for the match. They re-positioned the fields this season, which confused everyone. Once we got all of our players, we warmed up and were ready to roll. They got the first goal against us. Ainslee was a bit sketched jumping on the ball and they took advantage of it. Damn. They picked up a couple other ones before Adalyn scored our first goal. Insane. She was playing defense and ended up taking the ball straight to the goal. Crowd went crazy. Seriously. Too funny. Half time came around and we switched out keepers. Addy got another goal which sent their keeper into a sobbing fit. They had to stop the game to comfort her and get her to stop crying. Aww..Cotton Candy picked up another goal  before Addy got our last goal of the match. Her hat trick. Unbelievable. Her family was totally proud. Despite the loss, everyone on the Cheetahs was in good spirits. We had so much possession the first half and could have easily scored 4-5 goals. We'll work on 1v1 at practice as well as trying a new formation. Every single girl wanted to continue playing, and no one wanted to sit out. Sorry guys, I have to always be rotating players in and out. They're all looking forward to the next game.

Later, Jill and I went to Mayville for my friend Nichole's wedding. Awesome time and as always great to reunite with my old college friends. Sunday, nothing much happened before I went to work.

This week, practice, plenty of work, maybe catch a Chelsea game and Mia's got her game Saturday. That's all for now, thanks for reading!!