His Love of the Game

(All of these pictures are from a game in a local tournament Josh played in this weekend.)

He is so freaking handsome. I cannot stand it.

It is no secret that I absolutely love watching Josh play soccer. It is one of my most favorite things to do in this whole wide world. I think the main reason that I love watching Josh play soccer is because he is so passionate about it. From a very early age his love of soccer - both playing it and watching it - transcended his love for just about everything else. Soccer consumes him, and it a way, it completes him. The way he sees the game, the way he is always willing to improve his game, the skill he has playing the game are all things that amaze me. He is passionate about the game. It pours out of him and it shows. I don't know if he'll play in college or in the pros which is his ultimate dream. I would like to think he has a shot at both, but that may be the mother in me talking. What I do know is that he is constantly growing as a player and constantly meeting new goals and that certainly will help him to come closer to achieving his dreams.

In light of that, when we moved to Portland Josh made the decision to sit out of competitive soccer for a year. He played high school ball and also played in a winter league that allowed him to still play, but just not at that high level that he was used to. I am not sure why he chose this route. I think he just wanted to take a step back and do his research and find the right fit for him. He had just come from a team that was incredibly tight and I don't think he wanted to jump into something that wasn't going to measure up to what he had come from. I supported this decision.

One of his coaches and a parent who had watched him play recommended that he try out for FC Portland. Both knew that he was looking for a club and both approached him/me separately to say that this club would be a great fit for him. There are so many clubs in this area that it was nice that we were pointed in the same direction by two people who had no idea that the other was approaching our family with the same idea. Josh went on to guest play for a different club, looked into several other clubs, and then went to a practice session with FC Portland to make sure that he had really given due diligence to all of the clubs he was interested in playing for. (Under the assumption that he would make the team at try-outs.) After his first training session with FC he came home more excited than I have seen him in a long time. He loved his coaches, loved the skill level of the players, and just felt like this was the club for him. I was nervous about this team because they don't take everyone that tries out and they cut a good number of kids. I think Josh is an amazing player, but I am his mom. Would the coaches think he was as good as I did? Apparently they did because he tried out for the team and made it.

This club works a little bit differently than any other he has played for. There is a pool of 33 players that all practice together each week. From this pool 16-18 kids are chosen to play in tournaments and league games. From what I was told by another parent there is a main group of boys that are always selected - say 10 - for the tournaments and then the other 6-8 are swapped out each time. I wasn't sure where Josh would stack up. He definitely has the skill to play with these boys, but he lacks some of the speed as most of these boys are wicked fast. But lo and behold he was selected for the first tournament the team played this past weekend. And he even started 3 of the 4 games to boot.

Even more cool than that is that the roster was just released for a tournament in Las Vegas that the boys are heading to in February. Only 16 boys are being ask to go and represent FC Portland. Josh is one of them.

It is hard to start on a new team in a new part of the country every two years. It is hard to break into some of the politics that surrounds sports. It is hard to learn how to play each area's style of play in a short time. (Because believe me the Midwest plays different than the Southwest which plays differently than the Northwest.) It is hard to show a coach that you have what it takes to make a team when you are the new kid. But Josh does it. Each and every time he finds a way to communicate through his seriousness of the game, his passion, and his skill that he is worthy of a spot on their team.

I am so proud of him. I cannot wait to see where soccer takes him. I will always be his biggest supporter and his #1 fan.

He is the kid in front of #44. This team was from Alaska! That was pretty cool. It was the Alaskan ODP 2002 boys. Which basically means this is Alaska's best of the best.

I know that most of you will be able to spot him out just by looking at the back of him, but for those of you who don't know Josh very well he is #87.