[lookout123]

We're back from our first major tournament of the year. The boys did ok as a whole, but Lil Lookout came out of our 4 games looking like a freaking wunderkid. I am obviously biased but other coaches and parents were impressed enough to be chatting with each other about his performances. He scored at least one in every game and even had a 4 minute hattrick in our 3rd rainsoaked game. The boy looked happy with himself.

Unfortunately, our final game was against an out of state team that absolutely, positively had to have provided fake birth certificates. I know a little about this game and how kids develop. I KNOW that there is no team of 8 year olds who all have that kind of technique. Everyone of their attacking players was better than LL, every one of their defenders better than our best defender.

-an 8 year old girl who is 5'6" and puts corner kicks on the backpost every single time with no variation?
-two 8 year old boys who exchange blind passes down the length of the field using only the outside of their boot without letting the ball touch the ground?
-an 8 year old boy who knows how to elevate for a header and fully extend his core to redirect a ball to goal?

No flippin way. I was really proud of my kids for holding the score to a 3-1 loss. They beat our biggest rivals 8-0 earlier in the morning.