Congratulations to Our Defender!

For the second straight year, Aidan Weir has been named to the all-city team here in San Francisco, this time as an honorable mention.

He had a great season, not only on defense, but also scoring two goals and racking up multiple assists.

The way these honors are awarded in San Francisco has a lot to do with which four of the thirteen teams make the playoffs, and in the end, Aidan's team, Balboa, finished with the fifth-best record, and so did not get a playoff slot.

But his play individually was probably twice as good as last year, when his team made the championship game.

Such is the nature of things, I suppose. I've known this news for weeks, but frankly have been so underwhelmed by the way the system works I could not bear to post about it.

But tonight, I finally want to celebrate my son's fantastic season, and his award, even if it may be far less than he truly deserves. And much more, his love of the game. He doesn't play for certificates or medals; he plays because he loves the game of soccer. Not only does he love to play it, he loves to coach it.

So while, in the end, recognition for talented athletes like him is nice, you'd have to there in person to see how he plays the game to understand what really matters to him.

I, of course, was there, and I know what I saw. He's a gamer.

Congratulations, Aidan!

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