You Lose Some and You Win One (or something like that)

If you know my Ashlynn you know she's an emotional/ moody kid at times.   Not sure if that is a nature or nurture thing but I have a couple of ideas about where she gets it.  By the way, remember, I like to keep it real on my blog.

Her last few soccer games have been pretty tough.  You know, it's sometimes hard to come back after a pretty successful game (her first game was awesome), especially when the next 3 involve big losses for your team.

Last week's game is one she'd rather not remember.  She got super frustrated and ended up in tears because she felt she didn't help her team.  Yep, the ball got past her a few times when she was on defense and she took major responsibility for it.

Today, there was a different Ashlynn on the field.

In the first quarter, Ashlynn played left forward.  Nothing particularly exciting happened with Ashlynn.  She was kind of in the action but also did some running after the pack of girls.

In the second quarter. she was put in goal.  It was her first time playing the position and I think she and I were both a bit nervous.  It turned out that her team kept the ball at the other end of the field for the whole quarter, and she never even touched the ball as goalie.  Phew!

In the third quarter she sat out, along with the team's strongest player.  The assistant coach has been trying to encourage Ashlynn, especially after the prior week, and told the girls that they were resting up to be the team's secret weapons for the final quarter. 

The fourth quarter started out okay, with Ashlynn in as center forward.  At some point Ashlynn got the ball and headed down field to score.  The funniest part was that her cleat fell off, pretty early in her move down the field.  She just kept on going.  Here's the play:

 I love her teammate's expression as she looks at Ashlynn's shoe on the grass and isn't sure what to do.

 Go, Ashlynn, go!

We need to work on her reaction to success.  She doesn't like show-offs or braggers but her reaction to scoring a goal looks like she's upset. 

 Hugs from her teammate, Ali.

 There's a smile!

 After that, the kid was on fire!  Minutes after the other team kicked off, she was back at it, taking the ball back down the field.  She didn't score again, but her confidence was high.

 A big post-game smile

I'm hoping she can build on this week's success and learn that you have to keep trying when you face frustration or failure.  It's not an easy lesson, but I'd rather she learn it as a child.