Wes' Soccer Tournament

Well, I am sorry to have to report that the soccer tournament in Helsinki didn't go so well for the Belgrade boys. They lost all of their games, although two of the six games they played were pretty darned close. Somewhat uncharacteristically, our happy-go-lucky Wes seemed to take the losses pretty hard. I can only assume that he must have felt an extra sense of responsibility for the team's performance since he was one of the co-captains of the team. As it turns out, the ISB team was the youngest team in the tournament; most of the ISB kids were 6th graders, whereas the other teams were dominated mostly by 7th and 8th graders. You can't get these fellas down, though -- inspired, no doubt, by their youthful optimism, the ISB boys are already gunning for next year, when they will host the soccer tournament here in Belgrade. I'm thinking that between the extra year and having the homefield advantage, things are likely to turn out a little differently for these young soccer players next year. In any event, I am extremely proud of the boys for their tenacity and determination, and am certain that, at a minimum, their soccer skills improved significantly during the tournament!

Despite the disappointment over his team's performance, Wes seems to have really enjoyed his Helsinki experience. I mean, it isn't everyday that an 11-year old gets to board a bus with ten of his buddies, drive to Budapest, hang out there for a day, hop on a plane to Finland, of all places, and play soccer non-stop for two days!! It was one of those "big steps" in the sprint towards independence, and I think that the significance of the opportunity was not lost on Wes. He had a great time with his host family, as well -- Swedes who just moved back to Finland from China. They had two boys, ages 10 and 12, and it sounds like they made Wes and his teammate, Ozzy, feel right at home.

I must say that I was glad to see Wes climb down out of that school bus on Sunday afternoon. I'll be honest -- it was hard for me to send Wes off on this trip. Intellectually, I knew that he needed to go, and that it would be an incredible experience for him. Emotionally, though, it was a tough pill to swallow. Now that we've done it once, though, perhaps his subsequent trips won't be so hard. Wes will travel to Prague in February for a school choir trip, and then hopes to make the team that will travel to Latvia for the Middle School Boys' basketball tournament in the spring. We will also have a chance to host some kids from other schools in November when our school hosts the CEESA Middle School Speech and Debate tournament.

Well, that's it for now. Hoping this finds everyone back home and around the world happy, healthy and wise!!

Erin