My oldest son, Ollie, didn’t do a team sport like soccer when he was younger. However, he did do gymnastics and dance. While each activity has team aspects, they have different dynamics from a sport like a soccer.
I’m not sure why we didn’t get around to soccer for Ollie, but my wife, Diana, thought soccer would be a good idea for Ethan, so we went for it. We signed him up, ordered his uniform, and, most importantly, I bought a fancy folding chair. If I was going to be a soccer parent, I would do it right. My folding chair is comfy, it has a built-in footrest and umbrella AND reclines.
It started raining the morning of Ethan’s first game. To my dismay, I learned that people play soccer in the rain. I was not looking forward to this. A couple of hours later, when we got everyone loaded up in the car, the rain had turned into a downpour. We chose not to put Ethan through playing in the rain for his first game, and it ended up being a good call as the game was canceled five minutes later.
We tried the next week again, and I thought we were all prepared when I realized I had forgotten to bring his soccer ball to practice. Correction: I had got his soccer ball to practice. It just wasn’t pumped up yet. Good thing there were extra balls Ethan could use. I did pack the ball, no inflated, in the car this past week, but we ended up taking a different car. This time we borrowed a ball from my friend. One of these days, I’ll bring Ethan’s soccer ball to soccer.
Ethan’s team drills for the first part of soccer, and then for the last part of the hour, it’s game time. There have been many highlights for the past two games: A player sat on the ball and refused to get up. One player laid down in the middle of the field and refused to get up, so the coach had to call the parents to pull the kid off the field. There were a lot of goals, most of them own goals. There was crying, some meltdowns, a lot of running, and some contact with the ball. And for the most part, the kids, including Ethan, seemed to have fun.
Ethan ended each game, telling me that he had fun. He did a great job listening and staying with the team. Ethan is not the most aggressive soccer player, but he’s doing an excellent job of tracking the ball and staying with the team. There are moments when he gets distracted, and his head is not in the game, but he responds well when his couch pulls him back in and gives him directions.
My chair was a great purchase, Ethan has a new activity, and the coaches are doing a great job. I’m all about children providing me with new experiences, and now because of Ethan, I have watched my first whole soccer game.
Goal.
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