Game 3 and Orlando

Courtney’s Sunday game was changed from 2:30 pm to 8 am.  The girls were more awake and ready to play than they had been on Saturday. They played well and got to an early road of 1-0 but the other team rallied after halftime and brought the score to 2-1. Our team list but they played well and held their own in a tough tournament.

The sign in front of the Academy:

Our cute #14 soccer player:

7 Elite! Courtney is front row, 3rd from right.




These girls played hard and should be very proud of themselves. They held their own against some hard teams. The was so glad Courtney got this opportunity.

Saturday

Bryan and I slept in Saturday morning because we had gotten in so late Friday night.  I had done some research and found a cute breakfast place that had great reviews.  We decided to try it and see what we thought.  It was good food, but I wouldn't say it was out of this world.  When we were eating it started to rain outside and continued to rain until the soccer game began.

Bryan and I decided we wanted to get groceries so we wouldn't have to go out to eat all the time.  We found a grocery store, got food that could be made in the small kitchen in the Airbnb, and then went back to unload them.  We then went to Courtney's game.

It was a tough game, the girls played hard, it was super physical, but in the end, they lost 3-0.

We were going to have a beach day ourselves but, with all the rain, we decided to just walk along the beach and look at the water.

When we were getting ready to leave, a couple sitting on the beach pointed out some dolphins that were playing in the water near the beach. It was a mom and her baby. It was so cool to watch them play in the water. 

Shopping and Game 2

Courtney and her team spent the morning shopping before their game in the afternoon. It rained all morning but by the time for the game, it was just windy and sprinkling a little bit.

It was a very physical game and our team lost, 3-0. They played well but just couldn’t seem to score.

After the game, Courtney went back with her team, and Bryan and I went back to our Airbnb.

Our flight

Bryan and I flew to Florida on Friday.  We found flights that were out of St. George Airport so we wouldn't have to go to Las Vegas and pay for parking.  My parent drove us to the airport so we wouldn't have to pay for parking.  This has spoiled us for flying from now on because it was so nice to fly out of St. George.

Our flight left at 2 pm and right before we got on the plane there was a game update saying that it was tied at 0-0.  The mom said the girls were playing well.  I was excited and anxious to see the final score.

When we landed in Denver, I turned my phone on and saw "Courtney scored" and "they won 1-0".  I was so excited and couldn't wait to talk to Courtney.  We did a Facetime with her so she could tell us all about it and she was so excited.  It was great!

We flew into Tampa airport, got our rental car (which ended up being a new minivan instead of a compact car), and drove the hour to our Sarasota Airbnb.  We got there really late and I was happy to be there.

Beach day and Game 1

Friday morning the girls spent on the beach. Courtney said it was gorgeous.

At 2:30 (just when Bryan and I were getting on the plane) the game started. I got updates between flights from the team mom and the girls were holding their own. When we got on the flight from Denver to Tampa, the score was 0-0 just pas halftime.

When we landed in Tampa and I turned my phone back on I saw “1-0  Courtney scored”!! I was so excited for her. The team won!! They went into the tournament ranked 20th (I think) and they beat the #8 team with a goal by Courtney. 

You can see how ecstatic she is by her face in this picture. I was so happy for her!






They had ice cream that night to celebrate and Court eat said it was “really good ice cream.”

The winning team: (Courtney is 3rd from the right):

Courtney’s at Universal Studios

Courtney’s club soccer team, 7 Elite, were invited to the IMG Academy to a tournament. They flew out Wednesday, March 3rd headed for Orlando. They decided to go a day early and spend it at Universal Studios.

Here’s the team loading up to go to Universal:

They were excited!




Courtney went with a couple of other girls to ride some rides, drink Butterbeer, and have fun. The last ride was a water one that they rode twice and got soaking wet. She had a great time!

Lots of soccer

Courtney's coach has been working the girls hard to get them ready for the Florida tournament.  She had games on Thursday, Friday, two games on Saturday, and another on Monday.  She has been exhausted but they have been improving, I think.  They tied one of the games on Saturday, so that was good!

A lot of the teams over the weekend were ones from the Salt Lake area.  They came down to get some games in before their regular season began.  

It has been really cold, although it looks like it should be a nice warm day, and it has been very windy. Where they play is in a bowl between two small mesas.  The north wind blows and makes the wind just frigid in the bowl and it was miserable.  I went to the day game on Saturday and Bryan took one for the team and went to the night game.  When I watched during the day, I was bundled in my coat, 2 blankets, and gloves.  And that's how all the parents were on the sidelines.  We were all freezing and couldn't believe the girls were fine running around in shorts.  But they were active so they didn't get too cold, at least that's what Courtney told us.

The first Saturday game was rough because they didn't have any subs so all the girls had to play the entire game.  Courtney was exhausted and they still had one more game to go.  The second game was better because they had more players and were able to sub out.  But Courtney still played half of the game.

Courtney is the right player on the left side of the field.

Courtney is #14:

Monday night was their first league game.  They lost the game but they were exhausted and didn't have any subs for the first half.  At halftime, one player showed up after work so they had one person to rotate in.  The second half of the games have been going better than the first half, so they are learning to make adjustments.

Again, it looks like a beautiful day, and it was until the sun went down, and then it got cold.  But they survived and they have a break until they get to Florida.