As I’ve written before I’m the assistant coach for my daughter’s Challenge soccer team. Erin had to try out in May,
get selected for a team and that team will stay together through next
spring when the process is repeated (all the kids have to try out again). When she made the team I volunteered to be the assistant coach, which for all practical purposes means that she and I are spending more time together than we have in a long time, what with the two 1 1/2 hour practices plus two games each week.

The Challenge level of play is somewhere between the club level and what we called "Select" soccer in my day, which means that Erin definitely stepped into a higher level of competition this year. It’s safe to say that at first she was pretty intimidated by the faster, stronger and more skilled players, but now she’s starting to get comfortable.  Our team has played about eight games through this last weekend and after getting off to a rough start against some very good competition in the Twin City Classic tournament and against one of our sister teams from the TCYSA club, a team that returned 12 girls from last year’s roster, our girls have won four straight games.  Even better is the fact that most of the girls who stepped up from club level to play Challenge for the first time this season have started to score goals too.

Unfortunately Erin wasn’t one of the girls who scored…until yesterday.  With our team leading 2-1 and with about ten minutes left in the game, Erin received a pass at the top of the penalty box just outside the left post, took one or two dribbles and then curled a left footed shot inside the left post.  I know I’m biased, but I’m telling you it was one gorgeous shot.

The part I’ll never forget is the look on Erin’s face as she came off the field right after the goal.  I haven’t seen her smile that bright in a long time, and I’m willing to put in thousands more hours on the field with her if I get to see it even one more time.