Soccer Surprise

I always knew I would be a sports mom but I never dreamed I would be a soccer mom. I love watching my children play sports but I always thought I would leave the coaching to the "other parent" preferably someone who could be a good male role model. That has all changed now.

The soccer season began in April. At the first game, the parents on Jacob's team quickly realized no one there was the coach. That means in the rec league world a parent would need to step up. I decided to give it a try for a game and see how it went. I loved it. 6 games later I have now volunteered to coach again next season. I really hope I am allowed to coach.

I have seen a variety of coaches on the field. Most of them great with the same attitude I have. Others have left me to raise my eyebrows. Sure I believe the children should be encouraged to play but I also remember that they are 5 and 6 years old. None of these children will most likely grow up to be the next professional soccer star. Some might decide to play high school or even college soccer and the rest will move on to other things as they grow older. At this time, the children are too young to predict which children will fall into what category.

My philosophy coaching is to allow all children equal playing time. If I see that my team is overpowering the other team, I will try to have some of my less skilled (usually younger) players play together to give a few more opportunities for the other team to catch up. If I see that my players are being overpowered, I try to make sure I always have one of my older players on the field with the younger ones and then cheer them on no matter how close they get to scoring the goal.

I also try to treat each child as an individual. There are some children who struggle just kicking the ball where they want to kick it or running and kicking at the same time. I cheer for those children anytime they kick the ball whether they kick where they intended to or not. Then there are the more skilled players who hear me most when they do score a goal or make a great play. I also try to make sure each child kicks the ball even if that means he or she kicks off or completes more corner and goal kicks than another player. My goal is for the kids to have fun and learn not to become pros.

Today I watched a coach scold a child for not running fast enough. He told another child if he didn't start kicking the ball harder he would have to sit out. My thought was that these are young children. If they need an extra break, give it to them. If they run a little slower because they are hot and tired, so be it. As long as they are having fun and learning the game, I don't care if they score a goal. This coach was frustrated that his kids weren't scoring against ours and stated "they don't have a chance." That annoyed me as well. Yes my kids were dominating but his kids were playing hard and having fun. There is a reason we don't keep score at this age. Because the score doesn't matter. What matters is that the children have fun, learn sportsmanship, get exercise and possibly learn some good life lessons (like how to be a good friend to everyone on and off the field) not that they score the winning goal.

Enough said. We now have 2 months until the next season. I am hoping to get to coach again. I officially volunteered and will attend the coach training sessions if I am invited and able to make them. Until then, it is time to enjoy the last few weeks of swimming lessons and concentrate on being a t-ball mom. From the sidelines this time.

Thinking About Spring

It's hard to believe spring is here and has been for awhile. The weather outside is a very cold rain and there is even some talk of snow showers later today. Yuck! Not the 50s and 60s it is suppose to be this time of year. Tomorrow is suppose to be back in the 50s so I am focusing on the positive. Spring is here and last couple of weeks prove it. It just took a two day vacation.

Two weeks ago Jacob had his first t-ball practice. He was suppose to get his uniform today but it's really not baseball weather today. Soccer started last week for Jacob and M. I ended up coaching Jacob's team which I really enjoyed. I would prefer he had a coach who knows more about soccer but I really did have a lot of fun.

Last Saturday Jacob, M, P and I went to the zoo. It was a nice day with a high in the upper 50s and the animals were really enjoying it. The bears were more active than I have seen them in a long time. The baby lion hasn't made his debut yet so we will have to return soon for that.

The weather is suppose to be nice again tomorrow (or at least nicer) so I will be heading to the soccer field again. I love this part of parenting. When I dreamed of being a mom it was always watching my kids play sports and reading to them at night. I love that I get to do both now.

Birthday and Soccer

I only have a few moments before I have to run off to the daycare. It was a hectic morning. The boys and I actually slept until 7 which is 2 hours later than normal. We needed it but since they had to be at school by 8:15 and I had to be on the opposite side of town it meant a hurried and mad dash to get out the door. In that mad dash, Jacob forgot his blanket for naptime so I am now hurrying to get some work done before trying to get the blanket to daycare before naptime.

Due to family circumstances, the kids are allowed 2 parties. One party is with their friends and the other is family only and much more subdued. The friends party was Saturday at our local YMCA. If you have never explored a Y and have one in your area, I strongly recommend it. For only $55 we were allowed to invite 12 children for an hour of swimming and then an hour in a party room. I chose the child watch area so that the kids would have toys to play with during any down time (there really wasn't much).

We ended up having 13 children and 7 adults attend the party. The children ranged in age from 3 years old to 9 years old and everyone had a great time. Jacob, M and I found a dalmation pinata dressed like a fire dog. It had pull strings so the kids each took turns pulling ribbons. The pinata didn't work quite like it should have and the trap door didn't open when the ribbons were pulled. It was actually more fun that way since everyone got to pull at least one ribbon before I manually opened the trap door and the candy fell out. I had half a bag of candy hidden that I allowed the parents of the younger children to pick from and exchange any candy they did not want their children to have. I then placed the candy on the table and had the parents determine if their child received enough candy from the pinanta and to take what they felt their child should have. It worked really well and the kids had a great time.

M and Jacob played soccer on Sunday. It was the first game of a 6 game season. I chose a shortened season for a couple of reasons. This is the first time M has ever played on a team and he is really young (he turned 3 last May). Jacob played soccer just over a year ago and didn't like it so I wasn't convinced when he told me he likes it now.

M had the first game and it started off a little rocky. With only a half an hour nap and two very big days, M was very tired and cranky. He wasn't really sure what he was doing and didn't know the other kids on his team. He became shy and then began to cry when his coach and I told him to go out on the field. Once we convinced him to go out, he did great. He quickly began running and trying to kick the ball. He really enjoyed it when I taped him and showed him the video. He also liked looking at the pictures I took.

Jacob had a great time too. He got to start in the second game and kicked off (or whatever it's called in soccer). He managed to steal the ball away from the other team and stopped them from scoring a goal later. I was really proud of the way he was able to keep up with the other children since some of them are almost 2 years older than him (his team is 5 and 6 years old and he turns 5 tomorrow). Jacob had a great time and proved to me that he really does enjoy soccer.

The boys are back at daycare/preschool/4K today. I am hoping after going to bed a little early and sleeping in 2 hours late, they will be rested and have good days. Next weekend will be calmer and we will hopefully begin to get use to our school year routine soon.