Soccer season is back! This is my third season as a soccer mom and I found myself really looking forward to it, even though it marks the end of any evening routine, at least for three nights a week.I think I was most excited for this season because it is Bart's first and he has been waiting patiently for his moment on the field. He took his first steps kicking a ball across the kitchen floor (true story); he has been able to drop kick a ball since he was two; and he can dribble the ball clear across the field and kick it right into the net. For the past two years, people have been saying “wait until he gets to play – he’s going to be amazing!” We believed that.
Lisa has more of a delicate style. She understands the game and is always in exactly the spot the coach has told her to play. She talks a good game on the way to the field, telling us that she will surely score a goal tonight, but once she’s in the game she seems afraid of the ball. Maybe not afraid of the ball as much as afraid of making a mistake or getting in the way of someone else. We’re always encouraging her from the sidelines, but can’t help laughing at how tentative she seems.
So, imagine our surprise when the 2007 season opens with Lisa scoring a goal and Bart acting like an airhead! In her third season, Lisa has figured out that you have to actually kick the ball to score a goal; that the team will cheer for her if she shows some aggression. Her technical skill has caught up to her theoretical knowledge of the game and she is, in fact, good! Bart’s skills remain quite good, but once he gets into a game situation, he would rather entertain his adoring fans with a silly dance or a somersault. He seems oblivious to what is happening elsewhere on the field.
We were able to laugh at Lisa, but we find ourselves exasperated by Bart’s behaviour (and laughing a little too, because he is pretty funny!) I think all those other soccer parents built up our expectations for Bart, so we’re a little disappointed that our little guy isn’t the soccer phenom we had hoped for… yet. As my husband says, we still have one kid left to get it right. By the time Maggie gets to her first game, they’ll be trading her up to the 5-year-old league. I’m pretty sure of that.
3 comments:
I'd love to hear about what your evening routine IS actually like on soccer nights...soccer sounds like so much fun for the kids but I cannot picture how in the hell I would work it! I feel like there is barely enough time as it is by the time I get home from work. Do you have to leave early?
Great photo.
Tessie: Soccer starts at 6:00 PM, so it is definitely a rush. I try to leave work between 4:30 and 5:00. Luckily my drive home is less than 15 minutes, so I have at least 1/2 hour by the time I get home. Dinner for the kids is usually sandwiches or cold meat and prepared salads... something we can get on the table quickly. The soccer kid gets dressed and off we go (we leave the soccer shoes, shin pads and books, balls etc. to entertain the other kids in the car). We get home from soccer at about 7:30, so it's straight into the bath, jammies, bedtime story and bed. Mike and I eat late on soccer nights. Zoe ends up doing her homework in the morning. It's definitely a rush, but the kids do have fun!
Thanks for commenting on my photo! I got a new camera on the weekend... I took this picture with the "portrait" setting last night. I thought is looked like a painting. :-)
My niece just had her first soccer game and loved it. I think next year my son will play (he will be 4). So fun. I love it!!!
And, I'm guessing he will be like your son - hamming it up for the "fans".
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