Game 6: Plainfield vs. Ben Davis

I thought for sure we were not going to win this game, or at the very least the chances were slim. It seemed liked all of the Ben Davis players were built like lineman on a football team. Thick, tall, and muscular they seemed to dwarf our players. I braced myself for the loss.

But I was betting on the wrong team. After a close half, Plainfield came through and ended up beating Ben Davis 3-0. It was an awesome win. The boys came together to play their best game yet. All of the boys stepped up this game, not just the usual crew who shows up 100% of the time. The potential that this team has to do great things is so big. They just need to get everyone on board to put forth all of their effort every game.

Some games, depending on the talent of the opponent, you can begin to feel comfortable with your lead when you are up 1-0; most teams a 2-0 lead is necessary; there are some though that only a 3-0 lead allows you to breath deeply. This was the latter type of team. After we pulled away 3-0 I could relax and enjoy the game. Up until that third goal was scored it was a nail biter.

Record: 4-1-1

Captains choosing sides

Pregame huddle with the whole team. 

Starter introductions

Starter huddle

Celebrating goal #1. 

Free kick

Discussing a call made by the ref. 

Calling a play on a corner kick

Missed shot.

Game 5: Plainfield @ Mooresville

Game 5 was a big one for Josh. He played really, really well. By the end of the game he scored 3 of the team's 6 goals. He was on fire that night. In the end we won the game 6-1.


Record: 3-1-1

G-O-A-L #3!!!

The Choice Is Ours

As another school week ends I find myself feeling extra grateful for this season of life. I feel a happiness and a peace that I haven't felt in a really long time. Everyone seems to be doing well and moving forward in their lives. I appreciate what I have more than ever.

I have been thinking a lot about struggles and hardships lately. I have come to realize that everyone has burdens and struggles; perhaps this fact is obvious to most of you, but I can sometimes be a slow learner. Sarah's disease is our struggle, but we aren't any more or less special than the next family. For a long time I felt like we had been singled out for some reason to carry this hardship, and that we were somehow different than other families who didn't seem to have anything to carry. This is simply not true.

The older I get the less people I know who haven't had some kind of major hurdle in their lives. Some hurdles, like ours, are meant to be jumped over time and time again for the rest of Sarah's life. Others, may have to carry their struggles for only a while, but they still have to carry them.  These challenges change us forever no matter how long we are required to carry them for.

I have had friends and loved ones deal with cancer, child death, near death illnesses, caring for loved ones with dementia, divorce, infertility, you name it. I bet you could create a similar list too. I don't know why we are chosen to carry the struggles that we are. Some might say it is God ordained; others might say it is random. Either way, we all have hardships to carry. 

I would like to believe that our struggles break us open to become better people. People who are more appreciative of life, more compassionate, more understanding, more thankful, more grateful, more honest, more open, but this is not the case. Sometimes our hardships make us more judgmental, closed off, and bitter. The choice is ours, really. I would like to think that I choose the former more often than the latter. How we deal with our hardships affects our quality of life beyond the pain of what we are actually going through/have been through.

I don't ever want to become a bitter person because of Sarah's disease. I know that I am more compassionate towards other - especially those families who have abled-differently children. I know that I try to lead a life in which I am grateful for all that I have (although sometimes the green eyed monster finds me). I try to express how thankful I am for my blessings. I believe that these things will make me a better person in the long run.

The choice is mine in how I let hardships shape my life. It is yours too.

Game 4: Plainfield @ Ritter

This past weekend Josh's high school team traveled the short distance to Indianapolis to play against Ritter, a Catholic high school. In my experience private school teams are hard to beat; they just seem to have more solid players than your average public school team. Ritter was no exception and Plainfield suffered its first loss of the season.

 I think the frustrating thing for me was that this team was beatable. They were a good team, don't get me wrong, but our boys were just as good. Josh has played in games throughout the years where the other team just had more talent and were better coached; there was nothing that his team could have done to win the game at those points in his playing career. You understand those kind of losses. They aren't fun, and you wish you could have won them, but you can accept the loss. This game was not one of those kinds of games. We should have won it.  We just have a couple of players that play soccer for the fun of it, and when the going gets tough they don't get going. I was ready to scream at certain points because a couple of the boys just didn't care about winning after a certain point and they wouldn't put in the extra effort needed to get the win which meant that those who did care about the win were at the mercy of those who didn't.

Josh had a good game. He is playing with his heart more so than I have ever seen him do so. It was fun to watch him and a few of the other players on the field because their love of the game shines through and they are exceptional to watch. I hope that this game was a wake up call to the team that everyone has to step up when the challenge arises. All for one and one for all.

In the end, we lost 1-0.

Record: 2-1-1

(My camera is on the fritz and so most of these pictures are a bit blurry. Sorry.)

Josh was tripped up and on the ground. 

My sister and her family came out to visit last weekend. She and my youngest nephew came with me to Josh's game. Here Vinny is watching the action. 

Game 3: Plainfield vs Martinsville

Of the approximately 15 high school soccer games this season only 5 of them are at home. This pretty much stinks for all of the senior players, but there is nothing to be done about it except appreciate each home game all that much more.

The boys blew out Martinsville 6-0. In three games our boys have only had 1 goal scored on us while we have scored 10. I like that kind of goal differential. Most of the starters played the first half and then were subbed out so that the players who don't get that much playing time could do so since this game wasn't very challenging. Again, the senior boys were upset because they want to play every minute they can on their home turf.

The game was uneventful except for the fact that Josh scored his first goal of the season which was nice to do at his first home game. Hopefully, many more goals will follow.

Record: 2-0-1

Josh is #19

*We were/are having camera difficulties so a lot of our pictures came out blurry. These were the only ones that didn't. Otherwise, I would have a lot more pics of this game.