Last Thursday marked the “big kids’” first foray into organized sports.  I signed up W & S in a county soccer program for 3-5 year olds <– I plan to milk that mixed age group option for as long as I can to combine kid activities…

Mike & I are not “footballers” so the kids really had no prior experience whatsoever but had a great time on the field, running wild like preschoolers, occasionally following the instructions of their “coach” (I prefer to think of him as a cat herder extraordinaire).  Here are some pictures from last week:

I was impressed with Sam’ ability to kick the ball and general athleticism.  Wendy was tenative at times, but when the coach engaged her, she got into and was flush with pride when she scored a goal.  Check out this short clip of the kids “scrimmaging” (with multiple balls).

So that was last week.  THIS week, was a whole nother ball of wax.

First off – Sam was great — all over the place kicking the ball and have a grand old time.  A highlight for me was when the coach explained they were going to play a game called “Sharks and Minnows” and asked, “Who knows what a shark is?”.  Sam belted out “A predator!” and all the parents laughed  (Mike plays a game with the kids where he names an animal and the kids decide if it is a predator or prey).  So Sam had a great time.

For Wendy, the “Sharks and Minnows” game was more problematic.  At some point, she got frustrated – either that she wasn’t performing as well as the others, or that she wasn’t measuring up to her own standard and she completely shut down.  Like “take my ball and going home” kind of shut down.  Except, she has a mean old momma who wouldn’t let her.  I tried to be calm and encourage her to try,  but she was having none of it.  I reminded her that everyone has to practice to get better and if she didn’t try she would never get better.  Then I informed her that she may not like soccer, but she wasn’t going to quit — she would have to stick it out until the end of the “season”, and then could drop it if she liked.  But I could not get her to re-engage.  And it was ugly.  U-G-L-Y you ain’t got no alibi ugly.  Screaming when I tried to make her do anything.  I avoided eye contact with the other parents.   Finally, I took her ball from her because she wasn’t willing to practice kicking and wanted to hold it.  I informed her if she wasn’t going to use her ball for soccer things, she couldn’t have it.  The caterwauling got worse, but I held firm.

She cried for a long while in the car too, before eventually calming down enough to comply with my demand that she ask nicely for help, at which point I would return the ball to her and practice with her at home.  So, we finally got to a place where calm was restored and attitudes improved.  She was even willing to practice with Daddy in the backyard before dinner, so I’m hopeful that we’ll return to the field in better spirits next week.  For her sake, I hope so.  If not, I may have to invest in ear plugs for the other moms.

Tags: sports