Future Athletes of America

The first half of my summer is peppered with soccer games and practices. K was given the choice between t-ball or soccer and he chose the latter. I would have been happy with either, but I will confess, soccer is a tiny bit more fun to watch (I prefer games with time limits as opposed to the opportunity to last for hours ...)

The first two games his team played, they won. In fact, the first game they played they stomped the competition (D would probably attribute it to his coaching as he stood in for the normal coach.) This week was a little different. The opposing team was like a bunch of 16-year-olds in 5-year-old bodies. They were fast, they were coordinated, they were focused. It definitely made our little team look a little like the Mighty Ducks  or Bad News Bears.

And ... clearly ... the parents couldn't handle it. (Now, let me just state for the record, as far as I can tell, no one keeps track of the score except for the parents ... oh, and did I mention ... they are 5?? The parents on the sidelines were yelling and coaching. And D was very much in the action. I had mixed emotions, yes, I want my son to learn the fundamentals of the sport and be able to feel confident about his playing ability ... but I also want him to have fun.

So, I guess it didn't bother me as he was running down the field with a huge grin on his face without a care in the world ... until he heard his dad yell "focus, K ... focus on the ball." It broke my heart a little. I loved that the pure pleasure of the moment was right on my son's face and I could vicariously experience his joy. Of course, when he was jerked out of his daydream he gave a tiny scowl and then got back in the game.

It created quite the dialogue between D and I later in the evening. Me defending the free spirit, he's just 5, let him have fun argument. D explaining that the reason we have him in sports is to learn focus, teamwork and hone his gross motor skills. We both were right ... and we acknowledged we were both right ... but how do you compromise? I'm just hoping maybe the focus on some of the foot control skills and kicking at practice ... I could use a less dramatic game next week.