Bend it like Beckham...sort of

Last night, E had his first organized soccer game in over 10 years! Our friend, Jody invited E to join the team, which is made up of Jody's husband and friends. It's a coed team part of Extreme Toronto Sports Club [XTSC] and one of the rules is that 2 women need to be playing at all times. Since there were only 2 females present yesterday, they both had to play the entire hour, while the guys were able to switch out periodically. [How is that fair?]

Since it was an early game that wouldn't interfere with Indio's bedtime, we cheered from the sidelines, watching the action with the CN Tower as a backdrop. It was perfect summer evening, not too hot, not too humid.

The other team was short 2 players and still seemed to be able to hold their own! They gave Westside United a run for their money, though in the end WU came out on top with a 4-2 win.

The team is named after Jody's newly-opened school, Westside Montessori School in downtown Toronto. The school will soon be celebrating its 1st anniversary. I can't even put into words how proud I am of Jody and her partner, Liz, for starting up their own school. Jody and I did our Montessori training together at Toronto Montessori Institute back in 2000 and here she is, being her own boss and doing what she loves: passing on the brilliance of Maria Montessori. Westside serves children aged 18 months - 6 years. Last March, E, Indio and I visited the school. I was so impressed with the thought that went into every detail when setting up their classrooms. Not only did the asethetics speak to the Montessori *prepared environment* but also to Jody's own funky style. It was a modern-day Montessori wonderland. [I'll have to get some photos to share!]

E and his fancy footwork.