Sun Devil Fans!

We are huge Sun Devil fans!!! Thank you Pospisels for having us over to watch the big game. We had a blast!!!

Football Season 2011

It's been a great season for football. Cody's team ended 2nd in his league, Preston's third, and Tyler's 2nd. I am so proud of my boys and for what football does to build their character. It's been a great season!!

The boys!Cody and Coach Eric. We love him!The Buccaneers!

It's Been a While...

It's been a while! I am very behind in my blogging, but I think about it all of the time. It started out with my camera breaking. I got a new Nikon. Me and Nikon don't agree. I couldn't figure out how to take or publish pictures. I finally gave up and made Warren go and get me another Cannon. Heaven!

So, fooball season has started again. Cody is playing tackle for the Special Forces on the Jr. Pee Wee team. He is a running back and a corner. I haven't even taken pictures yet, but my friend Eli sent me this one of Cody running the ball. There will be more to come as Cody, Preston, and Tyler are all playing right now. We love football season around here! Isn't this picture cool?! Thanks Eli!

Flag Football 2011

Those who know the Coates family, know that our boys are in sports almost all year long. This spring we put all three of our older boys on flag football teams to stay in shape for tackle in the fall. It was a really good experience for all of them. They all grew in agility and speed.

Warren coached the 2nd/3rd grade Kansas City Chiefs team for Preston and his friends. We are in a really competative league. This team made it to the top three out of 25 teams. They got to play on the finals day. Not very many teams make it this far, and we are really proud of them!!!

Go Chiefs!

Flag Football 2010

Here are the Eagles. They went undefeated their entire season, until the championship game. They fought long and hard, but ended up losing by ONE POINT during the last minute of the game. Yes, it was a heart breaker! We were so thankful to have such a great group of boys who learned how to work hard and work together. My boys are also always so happy to have their dad coach them. It was a fabulous experience for our entire family!

Special Forces Win The Super Bowl!

This year Cody's Mighty Might football team, The Special Forces, made it to the "Super Bowl". Here is how it went...
We painted our cars. I already washed the paint off of my windows. However, Warren's is still there. At first I thought he was just short on time. Now, i'm starting to wonder. Warren is very proud of all of his boys.

We drove in a caravan to Queen Creek High School honking and shouting for the Forces! Go Forces!

We wrapped Cody's arm in 2 inches of foam so that his cast wouldn't hurt any of the OTHER players. You heard me right.

They played and won a close game against the Eagles (Our bitter, worst enemy in Mighty Might football). Forces won by one touchdown. This pic is of the early morning warm-up. When the game was played, the stands were full. It was a great opportunity for these boys to play on a real field.

We won!

We ate.

The team! I was so impressed with the boys on this little team. They were top notch kids from top notch families. We can't wait to play with them again next year.

Cody and his Power Ranch buddies. We love these boys!

Cody and Coach Eric. This man was fantastic with the kids. Cody learned so much from this man about working hard, supporting his "brothers", and being positive. What a great man. We are so thankful for people like this who support, and teach our children.

We were so nervous to put Cody on a tackle team. However, it turned out to be such a fabulous experience. We simply can't wait for Spring football camps and another season with the Special Forces. Go Forces!!!

We Won The Super Bowl!

The Special Forces, Mighty Might football team won the "Super Bowl" today! Final score, 13 (Forces) to 6 (Eagles). It has been a fun, but long day. Thanks mom, dad, Jake, Laura, and baby P. for coming. We especially want to thank BLAKE for coming!!!!! He has been so supportive of our little boys. WE LOVE YOU BLAKE!!! Thanks grandma Coates for the phone call! You all mean alot to Cody. I will post pics and more info. when I have more time! Go forces!! We are proud of you Cody!!

Special Forces To The Super Bowl

Cody's Mighty Might tackle team, the Special Forces, won a tough playoff game against the Rams on Saturday. They are now going to the Super Bowl!!

Even though Cody broke his arm this week, he still wanted to get up and get to warm-ups with his team at 7a.m. on Saturday morning. Coach Eric made him team captian that morning, and really helped Cody feel included. These boys have learned so much from such awesome coaches this season. They are great men. I think that Cody is loving all of the attention!

Going out to flip the coin.

Preparing for the "Ready" stance.

Cody has a clean break in the main bone of his right forearm. After a block on Thursday night, Cody fell on his own arm wrong, and then another boy's cleat hit his arm after that. He got a green (Go Forces!), totally waterproof cast on Friday. Believe it or not, Dr. Tani told him he could still play football with his cast on! Evidently the arm is stronger now, with a cast on, than it was before he broke it. At first we said NO WAY, but we may let Cody play a little bit in his Super Bowl game.

If he plays, he has to wrap the cast in 1 inch foam and duct tape so that he doesn't hurt any of the other players! We'll see what we decide. Those should be some interesting pictures!

Preston Rocks The Field

Saturday was a great day for football. Preston's team, the New York Jets, beat both the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans. Preston pulled alot of flags and caught an awesome touchdown NFL style. We are so proud of this boy who keeps up on a team of boys who are all a grade older than him. Go Preston!

Preston and some of his buddies. They are the cutest, goofiest kids, but still play well.

Tough!

Cool Pics

No posts in a while. We've been away for fall break. A couple of weeks ago a friend came and took these pics at Cody's game with her fancy lens. Thanks Michelle. I love them, but barely figured out how to download them onto Blogger from your file.

Cody is loving football this year. Most of all, he loves playing shoulder to shoulder with his buddies. As Warren says, Cody seems to have finally have "figured it out" over the last couple of weeks, and has had some awesome games. Way to go Cody! We are so proud of you!

It's Football Season

We were up at 6 on Saturday preparing for two very important football games. First, Cody had to be at his warm-up an hour before the game started. I took him and then Warren was to follow with the rest of our boys so they didn't have to wait so long. However, entire families sat in the bleachers already watching and waiting when we arived. The boys weighed in. A few ran around the track trying to lose a few ounces to make weight at the last minute. The Special Forces Mighty Might team stood in organized lines, warming up and then running plays.

I've been around football my entire life. It is a psychological experiment for me. I try to pinpoint why the game is so exciting to people, including myself. There's nothing like it. All ages, sizes, and sexes lose themselves to it. It's something about playing such a complicated game. It's something about knowing "secret" plays. It's something about having a common goal between the players and the spectators; to win. It's something about the music, the smells, the colors, and the noises. However, sometimes I wonder why football is only so exciting during the fall months. It seems to lose it's fizz after December.

When Warren finally came with the rest of our crew, and the two teams ran about 3 official plays, it started pouring...POURING! Lighting surrounded us. We all stood under the METAL bleachers. See how smart football people are? It took a good hour for everybody to realize that there wouldn't be a Special Forces vs. Cardinals Mighty Might game that morning. None of us wanted to believe it. We all kind of just stood there drenched and drizzling. And then we all sat in our cars for another 20 minutes thinking it would stop. It didn't, and we'll all be back on Saturday morning waiting again.

Preston's flag game was also rained out later that morning. I don't have pictures of his team yet, but here are some of Cody on his league's Opening Day. He has met some great kids on his team this year. We have met some great adults. Both boys are learning to play as a team and some great leadership skills. We are happy to have them busy with something so productive. Go SPECIAL FORCES!! GO JETS!!

Tyler loved the eagle, a mascot for an opposing team.

Lessons From The Field

This year Cody started tackle football. He is a Mighty Might on the San Tan Special Forces team. GO FORCES! We worked hard to be on this team to be with friends, and because the coaches are so amazing. Expectations are high, and they require the team to work hard, be kind, and speak only positively on the field. Then, they go out and tackle the skittles out of each other. Cody has learned so many life lessons after only one week of practice.

He comes home at 8:30 or 9p.m., takes a shower, and comes down to eat and talk for a minute. I love those minutes.

On Tuesday night, during that time, Cody said, "Mom, coach said that when you're running sprints and you're whooping everybody it's good, but it's easy. He says that when you're running sprints and getting whooped, that's when you work the hardest, and that's when you get the strongest."

I could learn alot from tackle football.

After Party!

After the Buccaneers game, the Mills were kind enough to have a pool party and bbq for all of the families. We had such a great time. All of us were together for a grand total of over 10 hours today, and we could have stayed even longer. What great families you all are!! Thanks for a fabulous day. We can't wait until the fall!!

2009 Buc Finals

Now, let me just tell you about this little Buccuneer team!! I only feel bad about one thing. Nick also played the last two games today, but we took pictures during the first game. Nick was there for two whole games holding it together for the Bucs too!

The first game was against the Patriots. We beat them, no problem 26-0. The next team we played was the Cowboys. Now this team was very tough. They were ranked second out of many teams in the final standings. However, the Bucs were amazing and picked them off 12-0!! The Cowboys coaches couldn't believe how amazing our team played and came over to tell some of the parents that. This put the Bucs in a position to play for a Super Bowl spot! Only four teams made it this far today. Our last game was against the Redskins. They played hard, but so did we. In the end the Redskins beat us 2-0 only because of a safety. The entire day NO team was able to make a touchdown against these boys. The Buccaneers also played 3 games in a row in 105 degree heat, and loved every second of it!
Cody had such a fantastic experience this season. He learned so much from coaches Bond and Kriner. He is so excited about the game of football. Time for tackle in the fall!

One of the best parts of this season was that all of the boys are friends. There was no fighting. They learned how to support each other, rely on each other, and work as a team together. What great lessons this experience taught them.

2009 Jets Finals

We just returned from a long, but exciting day of flag football finals. The Jets played an AWESOME game! This was the first time that any of these boys have played flag football, and they had a fabulous season. They loved playing together and learned so much. They lost their first game today by just one touchdown. It was to the Bears, who we had previously beat. Due to some VERY unfair officiating, we were left short. However, when kids are only 5 and 6 years old, all that they really care about is the trophy anyway. They all left very, very happy! GO JETS!The crazy shot!

Preston had such a blast this season. He especially loved having his dad as a coach. Preston has always been a kid who will try anything, and we are so proud of him! He is already talking about the fall. We can't wait!

A Good Day For Football

Today was a very, very good day for football. Preston's team, the Jets, stomped on the Titans. Cody's team, the Bucs., had to play the two best teams in the league (both in the same day), the Giants and the Steelers. The Bucs. shut the Steelers out 22-0! Those Steelers didn't know what hit'em. It was amazing. Later, the Bucs. played the Giants. They are one of those mean, nasty teams with rude parents, and about 50 million coaches with matching clipboards. We lost to them, but only by one touchdown. Cody made two touchdowns for our team during this game, and caught a BEAUTIFUL long pass by Jace Bond. It was such a fun game, and we are so proud of the boys and coaches. I really enjoy sitting with the other moms and yelling for our boys. I used to be the loudest, but the others have caught up with me now!
Go Jets!

Brothers.

Tyler thinks he's cool trying on flags.

Dairy Queen afterwards with the Mills and the Kriners.