The House of Payne: Evolution of a Goalie

April 20, 2008

Evolution of a Goalie

Andrew started playing soccer at the ripe old age of 3. That first year was a nightmare. Andrew spent more time twirling in place, picking flowers and dreaming of what would be for snack after the game than actually playing soccer! His coach would tell him where to stand on the field and being the ever obedient child, Andrew stayed put and would not touch the ball unless it rolled along and hit him in the shins. Below is an illustration of how he generally looked through his first season of soccer...

Well a year certainly makes a difference. By the time Andrew was 4, he was ready to take his first turn as goalie! Who knew it would later become his position of choice???? *Note the size of the net!!!

Yesterday, Andrew played a very intense game. The Hot Shots ended up loosing the battle after a long, hard, evenly matched fight. Andrew received many shots on goal only letting one ball by. He was comforted in knowing there was no way to stop this ball. It was kicked high over his head. He jumped and his finger tips grazed the ball, but it was moving too fast and made it in. He was simply awesome yesterday... (I am not in the least bit biased!!!) Andrew was THRILLED when the GAME BALL was awarded to him for the best performance yesterday's game!!!! In his 8 years of playing, this is a first for him!!! He was on cloud nine and rightly so!!! Check out the pics of Andrew at work. *Note again the size of the net...