One of the First Lasts

Hannah at warm-up's



So this last Saturday we drove to Cedar City to watch our daughter's High School soccer team play in a state play-off game.  It was a five-hour drive and we were happy to do it to support her and the team.  She has played with this team for the past 3 years.  It has been a blessing in her life.  She started playing soccer with the Bear River High girl's soccer team when we decided to move to Garland.  She hadn't even started going to school there and had already made friends.  It was so cool!  Those girls took her in and she has had them as friends ever since. 

Supporting the Team

Our team was not ranked as we were not in the top 5 in the state.  However, we had won our first game against Payson High School and the girls were doing well.  When we got there Hannah told us that the coach had decided that he wouldn't play her unless they were ahead by 2 points.  (I knew she was a little disappointed in this, but was gracious about that decision.) 



Watching Second Half and cheering them on!



Earlier in the season Hannah had received a concussion.  This after her brain injury last year.  So the coach didn't start her at all after that.  He would let her play the second half of each game.  I'm not sure of his logic as she had been his starting keeper for the past 2 years.  However, we all tried to support him in this decision.  

Well, in the game against Cedar Hills our team played beautifully!  As a parent you couldn't have asked for more.  They played their hearts out and  it showed.  We went in to the first over time.  It lasted 10 minutes, and we held them.  Then we went into the second over time and the clock was set for 10 minutes. 

(So after the second over time the game would go to a shoot-out if it went that far and Hannah would then get to play.  Coach had told her she was his go-to gal because he knew she would defend our goal against one-on-one shots because of her experience.) 

We were into the second OT by 5 minutes when one of the girls on our team was called on a hand-ball (the ball bounced up and hit her hand.)  Cedar Hill's got a kick at our goal from where the call was made and ....  Yep, it skipped around our goalie and that was the end of the game.  The crowd hushed!  Hannah had been warming up and as I looked at her, her face fell and it was hard as a mom not to cry.  She realized it was over.  No more soccer.  She didn't even get to play in her last soccer game as a senior.  I felt so bad for her, but she was a wonderful sport about it.  She cried for a minute, but then she was hugging everyone and trying to make them feel okay about how they had played.  I was proud of her, very proud of her!!

Showing Great Sportsmanship!

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Hannah thanking her coach for a great season!

She is a wonderful daughter and it has been wonderful following her for the past 12 years watching her skills grow and her mature into the beautiful youngwoman she is today.