Soccer Tournament

Benjamin has been playing soccer since December.  Sadly for him there have been no actual games but rather just training and scrimmages. 
At the end of the season they have an outdoor tournament held at the school.  A couple of other local schools were invited and they mixed and matched ages.  The Kindergarteners through 2nd graders played together and then 3rd graders through high school played together (!?!)

Since Benjamin has been playing on the 3rd grade team he was in the upper level group.  His fellow teammates (all 3rd graders) took on teams that were in 4th grade, 5th grade and 6th grade.  Some of the better 3rd graders even played a team of 9th graders. 
Benjamin's team killed it! 

He couldn't have bee happier when the first game he played was against the 5th grade girls team.  And the 3rd grade boys crushed them 5-0.  Josie wasn't playing but several of her friends that have been to the house many times were playing.  He knew what it meant to crush an older sibling. 
His team played 3 more games and they one 2 more games and barely lost to the 4th grade boys team 2-1.  All in all, his team was 3 wins and 1 loss. 

Not only did he play with heart but because it was over 90 degrees, he showed even more grit than normal to stick it out.

We have decided to keep him with kids his own age next year.  Although he held his own with kids a year older we all think he would enjoy it more with his classmates and kids more his own age.