Soccer in Arizona

Austen with backpack and yellow shoes

We left last Friday for some warmer weather and to play some soccer in the sunny state of Arizona. And, while it was a bit warmer than our Chicago temperatures and lacked the snowfall we had here, it still was unseasonably cool in the southwest.

Despite the frigid temperatures, we still managed to have a good time playing mini golf at our resort, frolicking in the lazy river and socializing with our soccer friends. Austen played four soccer games against teams from New Mexico (2), Washington and Arizona. The first game ended 3-0 in our favor. Austen scoring one goal off of a breakaway down the side and a cross/shot. The second game was 5-0 with Austen adding 2 more goals. Third game ended 2-0 with Austen providing great defensive play. The fourth and final game (championship) ended in a hard fought 2-1 game. However, they could have easily won that game by a goal or more. Two bad or no calls by the ref certainly contributed to the end result as Austen was pushed down in the penalty box as he was shooting with a no call. On another take down in the box, Austen was called to shoot the penalty kick when all of a sudden the ref gets yelled at for the call by the other coach and reverses his decision. I've never seen anything like it. Ridiculously poor reffing for sure. But, at the end of the day, these kids are 12 and there's sure to be more games lost, more bad refs and bigger problems in the world. The kids had fun, bonded as a team, played some great competition and learned more lessons on and off the field that they will carry with them throughout their lives. I know I did.

Team bonding at In and Out Burger

Volleyball in the pool

Having fun after a game!