Soccer Mom

I am a proud soccer mom and have been since Kathryn's first season in the fall of 2005.  She's still going strong and I enjoy more and more watching her play.  (She'll get a post of her own.)  Juliana played her first season when she was 4 1/2, but after scoring a goal on the first play of her first game, she just stood there.  It was as though she had accomplished everything she had set out to accomplish in her soccer career and she was done.  She gave it another try last spring, but opted not to join a team this season in hopes of taking karate instead.  And, now, finally, it's Alexander's turn.  He attended his first soccer game when he was 2 days old and we stopped to watch Kathryn play on our way home from the hospital.  He's been to almost every game his sisters have played over the past 5 years and he's been chomping at the bit to get in there himself.

We had a bit of a rocky start with the first practice when after 30 minutes he came to me and asked, "When am I ever going to get to play soccer?!"  I had to explain that that's what he was doing; that playing games at practice helps you learn how to play the game.  His response was that he already knew how to play soccer, thank you very much.  I was pleased when they announced they would be scrimmaging at every practice because then we could spin it that he would indeed be playing the game at every practice.  With Alexander, it's all about the spin.  He sure keeps me on my toes.

First soccer practice

Anyway, he was very excited for his first game a couple weeks ago and got right in there.  His enthusiasm lasted all of a few minutes until he got pushed and then stood there yelling, "He pushed me!" and refused to move.  He sat down on the field after several plays and things really went downhill when one of the coaches accidentally stepped on his hand.  By this time, my patience was wearing thin and I told him if he hadn't been sitting on the ground where he didn't belong, he wouldn't have gotten stepped on.  (Miss Empathy 2010, at your service.)

See?!

He finally got back in the game and he did some running after the ball, but he was very frustrated every time he got pushed and I can't say I blame him.  It looked more like a rugby match out there than soccer.  [Nate said maybe he should start randomly shoving Alexander to the ground to toughen him up a bit.  But, he hasn't begun that training regimen yet.]  Alexander got through the rest of the game and was finally happy when presented with snack: a doughnut with rainbow sprinkles.  Does life get any better?  No.  It does not.

After all the drama of his first soccer experience, I was quite surprised when we were driving home and he got mad at me because he didn't have a game the following day.  Um.  Are you the same kid who complained and scowled and kept sitting down on the field for the past hour?  WHY would you possibly want to play again the next day?  I was so confused.  But, this is my son in a nutshell.  He's totally unpredictable and I am typically unable to stay on the same sidewalk as he, let alone a step ahead.

Flash forward two weeks and we're off to game number 2 of the season.  He seemed fine going into it, but there was a little issue with Picture Day and I worried that it would alter his mood for the actual game.  He moved on well enough, but didn't want to go into the game at the very beginning.  Nate, my hero, says, "Okay, Alexander, (placing his hand on a big box of Scooby Doo Graham Cookies), see these snacks?  You get a snack if you play hard."  And, that kid took off like a shot onto the field!

They played three-on-three this week so it was less congested and they played a far less aggressive team so the physical contact was minimal (thank goodness).  I overheard a coach saying to his daughter right before the game, "Are you going to score a goal today?!" and my thought was, "I just want my kid to kick the ball."  Scoring a goal was the furthest from my mind.  I thought, "Just touch the ball with your foot and I'll be happy."  So, you can imagine my glee when Alexander went in there and scored a goal...and then another!!  It was so exciting!  He's got some work to do in the sportsmanship department as every time the other team scored, he frowned and put his head down and looked utterly defeated even though his team ended up winning the game.  He's still young; we've got plenty of time to work out the kinks.  In the end, that boy earned his Scooby Snacks!

I'm tentatively looking forward to his next game.  One never knows how this sweet child of mine is going to react come game day.  But, it really doesn't matter what the future holds because I will always have priceless memories of my children playing soccer, even if only briefly, and these:

 

Go Alligators!