Happy Feet Soccer League

Brady has been participating in various soccer programs since he was just over two.  He has done really well in his indoor soccer classes and seeems to enjoy them alot.  A couple of months ago he told us he wanted to play outdoor soccer on a team this summer.  I looked really hard for a outdoor program for 3 year olds and finally found a league that starts that young.   The other programs Brady has done have been more skills based and haven't had true games.  We signed up for Happy Feet outdoor soccer with the understanding that games would be between 8:30 - 12:30.   The first 30 minutes is a practice and the second 30 minutes is a 3 on 3 game.   One week before we started we were notified that Brady was going to be on the Orange Orangutan team and that our games would be every Saturday morning at 8:30.   This was not good for Brady who likes to sleep in on the weekends and who regularly doesn't wake up until after 9.  Since the soccer fields are about 25 minutes away this means that we have to leave the house by 8am at the latest to make it to the game. 

Week 1 we were optimistic since Brady was so excited, but he was still half asleep when we got there and didn't participate much.  Week 2 we had alot of the same, but after some bribing he decided to participate in the last game, ran in and scored a goal.  Week 3 he did not participate in the skills practice part, but played for all 30 minutes of the game and scored 3 goals.  He's getting more excited about playing every week so hopefuly next week he'll participate the entire time.  I'm not sure how the other parents feel about him not participating in the practice part and then running in and playing in the game portion.  I think if we a later start time this would go alot smoother, but unfortunately we don't get to pick.  The competitive side of me is thinking that at least he's participating in the game and one of the two kids on the team who scores goals, but then I have to remind myself that they are 3, they don't keep score and the point is learning about teamwork, listening to the coach, etc.  We have lots of years to score goals and win ahead of us.