We hosted the Ankara tournament. Here the girls are matched up with a school from Istanbul.
Two of their coaches were former students (and soccer players!) for Oasis!
It was fun to take the third place trophy for the weekend!
Soon we were headed to Istanbul for the big tournament. Have you ever ridden a bus for 8 hours with 25 teenagers? It's fun...even the rest stops.
We got the kids checked into the hotel on the busy Istanbul streets, fed them breakfast, and began our day of games. They worked hard with only wins, ties, and 1 loss.
The backdrop for the soccer field was the beautiful Bosphorus Sea.
One of our thoughtful moms put together lunches for the kids.
And soon we were back on the field for more games. We ended up in a spot with the same ranking as another team. Originally the refs proposed we should toss a coin to see which team got to play for 3rd place. We decided to do penalty kicks instead. Twinkle put in the shot that won us the chance to play, and we did indeed take 3rd place. What a fun day!
This was not posed!
And then the weeks went on, and we had one last game against the local French School. I knew it would be Twinkle's last game. Here I am...the firsts of the lasts again. I cheered my heart out for my accomplished athlete. And I never cried. Then I got home that night and scrolled through my pictures, and this picture touched me so deeply, I did cry. There she is, all grown up to be a woman. A confident smile on her face. But perhaps a bit of wistfulness too. I'm so proud of you, Twinkle Toes. I could not be prouder!
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