So my mom was hoping for a shot of Simon in his tennis camp tee. Instead I offer this group picture of Simon taken on the last day of Spalding University’s Youth Development soccer camp.
I have been told that the University of Louisville soccer camp is the best thing since soccer itself. Other than being longer, I’m not sure how that is possible. Let me count the ways this week’s camp rocked:
- They had five coaches for 23 kids.
- One of those coaches was Darren, his favorite from the regular season.
- The coaches scrimmaged with the players, meaning Simon had someone to pass to when he saw a lane open up.
- Simon got to play with the big kids, like really big. He was with a few 9-year-olds, maybe one 8-year-old, and the rest were the 10 and up crowd. My first thought when I saw this was “wow!” followed very quickly by “don’t sit on him!”.
- His words: “All the kids paid attention and followed directions.” This matters to him. A lot.
- Today they scrimmaged on the full field, and Simon scored 4 goals. This also matters to him. A lot. (The field size more than the scoring; Simon loves to have space to work with.)
- He also won the shoot-out contest.
- The prize for the above item was a brand new soccer ball.
- I sent him with his own money today so he could buy a snack and Gatorade during the break. It sounds small, but it made him feel like a total hot shot compared to bringing food from home.
Aside from turf burn from playing inside, this week was pretty much perfect. So while I would be delighted to discover that his next soccer camp is even better, I’m not sure how that would be possible. I know it’s not necessary. Nearly as good or as good will make for another delightful week for both of us.