Confessions of a Soccer Mom

Although life is so busy now that the thought of adding one more activity to the family calendar made me wonder if I would need to get out a magnifying glass to read the fine print, but I just couldn't turn down the pleas from the youngest son to sign him up for soccer. The teams usually practice at the large county park within walking distance from our home, so the oldest son at home agreed to accompany the youngest son to soccer practice, but that was before we were assigned a team that practices a few miles away. That's okay...practice is in the evening when I should be available to attend. Games are on Saturdays and Tuesdays, both of which are generally free on the calendar, well, there's actually white space to write the event on the calendar. As long as I didn't have to coach.

So last Monday, we went for the big, Soccer Meet Your Coach and Team Night at the park. The youngest son got to meet his coach, a few team mates, picked up his new, enormous purple uniform shirt, black socks and black shorts. Is there a soccer tradition that says that county teams have to play in jerseys that are ten times too big so the sponsors have more room for advertising? Just better watch out on windy days...the team might take flight! But the grin on every player's face was great...they were getting ready to play soccer!

Wednesday was the first practice. I still haven't gotten my soccer Mom chair in the back of the minivan, so I stayed in the comfort of my minivan and watched the practice. I also don't have my soccer Mom blanket handy either, so I also needed the warmth of the minivan to protect me from the spring breeze, too. This first practice was at the nearby park, where the parking lot overlooked the practice field. It was brimming over with a multitude of little soccer players. Fortunately no other purple teams were in sight, and the coach was able to keep track of his team. He's a great coach. He got in there and played with them and showed them how things were done, then encouraged them all to give it a try. The whole time he was laughing and having a great time...just what kids need these days. It also happened to be youngest son's birthday, a big 1-0, so we brought treats...seemed fitting.

Fortunately Saturday was a perfect day for the first game. We got out the chairs, camera, and a blanket, although it wasn't needed, to watch the purple play the blue team. Both teams lined up and at the whistle they were off. First one team then the other dribbled the ball down the field, then youngest son and another purple player started passing to one another. It took a few tries, but with some team work, they scored a goal! The rest of the team got in on it and soon they dominated control of the ball. I was snapping some photos, knowing that if I didn't take a lot, seems that I don't get many good ones. It's hard to take actions shots. But just as I snapped what I thought was a good photo, I looked up and the ball was in the net...youngest son, made a goal! We had a great time watching the action. After half time the other team seemed to catch on and scored a few goals, too. Youngest son, with back up of his awesome purple team, scored another goal. So by the end of the game there were goals scored by both teams and all of the kids left the field just as the county sports director requested, "with a smile on their face and a cookie in their hand." What a great way to start the season!

At practice this week the team was anxious to learn from their coach so they could prepare for the next game. The new practice location left more room for running laps and drills without running into other soccer players. While watching the purple team work hard to the encouragement of their coach, I kept myself busy finishing some paperwork on my laptop. No parking lot nearby, so sat in the shade of the elementary school. Still need to get that folding chair in the back of the minivan...