Justice, Soccer Star

Ha.  I'm so happy for Justice.  For the past two middle school soccer seasons, Justice has persevered through losing just about ever single game.  

Man.

It's been ROUGH to watch it.  I have tried for two consecutive years to talk him into running track instead of torturing himself with soccer, but he refuses to quit.  Good for him.  He's got some pretty awesome attributes that will carry him far throughout any trials and tough times he might face.

He's no quitter.

And he works SO hard.

He spent hours upon hours EVERY SINGLE DAY working on his skills in the backyard.

Pouring rain, freezing cold.  No matter, he still went out and practiced.  And he got better.  Much better.

Something else changed with middle school soccer this year.  Do you recognize that grey-clothed guy out there on the field?  No?  

The Coach.  Yes, that's right.  The Coach was offered and accepted a position as assistant coach, coaching middle school soccer.  That's good news for the middle school soccer team.

The season started out a little slow.  They lost their first game in a bad, bad way.  You know, same as always.

But then, the tide turned.  They started winning.  And winning some more.

And Justice was playing like a beast.  All that hard work, and listening to The Coach bear down on him 24/7 turned him into a boss on the field.

See that yellow and black band on his arm?

Team Captain!  Go Jussie, go!

I'd also like to note that in the eight weeks of soccer season, Justice feet went from a size 6 1/2 to a size 10 shoe.  Cleats are not cheap, either.  Anyhow, I digress.  This picture just reminded me that his shoes were off because they were probably too tight.  Again.  For the third time.

And they made it to the playoffs!  WHAT?  YES!

And then guess what happened?

These three boys were given district level awards!  Yay!

Our team had two All-Conference Awards and two All-District Awards!  The past two years, nobody was awarded anything.

And guess one more time which player was selected to BOTH All-Tournament AND All-Conference?

YES!  Justice!  I'm so proud of him!

Mr. Long-Legs receiving his awards from the "district guy".  That's the best I can do.

And at the school's Sports Awards program, he was also awarded "Best Offensive Player" for the team!

And guess who was Justice's biggest fan throughout the whole season?

That's right, Shandi.  She cheered him on like a maniac throughout the entire season.  They became much closer because of the common bond of this game... Shandi was a maniacal soccer player, being an all district player and team captain, herself.

So proud of this kid.  Good thing he didn't listen to his Mama and run track!