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June 5, 2003 Well you either love it or hate it but you certainly cant stop it. Soccer night. My son looks forward to playing soccer all year long, and he is quite good! However, there is a lot more to it then just running around kicking a ball. While I am thrilled there are so many enthusiastic kids getting together for team sports and doing some exercise, its also tedious and sometimes intrusive in my life. Two nights a week, Tuesday and Thursday, our life revolves around soccer. I spend the whole day (not really the whole day, just sounded dramatic) praying and hoping that it doesnt rain. If it rains the practice or game will be just miserable. As a parent I am not out there running around chasing a ball, I am sitting in a chair with my damp hair now in frizzy ringlets shivering and on the way to grouchy. Try as I might to keep a good attitude, somehow it just seems to leave in the presence of rain. The practice or game runs between six thirty and eight at night. Which completely disrupts dinnertime. SO everything is a big rush until we get out the door. Between cooking like a madwoman, choking down the food, racing around to find the invisible socks, spending five minutes undoing the knots of his laces, hunting down the water bottle, and grabbing jackets, blankets, and chairs, by the time we get there I am exhausted and could easily call it a night. However, being the good mommy that I am, I still put on a smile and tell him to go get em Tiger just so I can see his little face light up. The last thing I want to do is discourage him in any way at all. So I bite my tongue. All the while despising soccer season. Then there is the coach. Okay, I know its just a parent kind enough to volunteer their time. But I spent over an arm and a leg (and this should be a celebrity arm or leg for the price I pay) for him to play soccer. What do I get out of the major cash payment? A pair of shorts that dont fit, black socks that I could get anywhere for less, and two nights a week of irritation (see above). They dont even get to keep the uniform shirt, so Im not sure where the money is really going. It seems cheaper to tie a string around my kid and dangle a piece of pizza in front of him so he can go run around in the yard safe and secure! I mean really, it seems a bit over exaggerated but financially I dont get out of it what I feel I am owed. Of course I know it should be the thrill of watching my son play, and sometimes it is, but I dont feel that emotion until the darn season is over with! Thankfully purchasing the shoes and shin guards are not really that expensive. Hockey is expensive. Soccer is manageable and maybe thats why so many kids play. I only pray each game that the ball doesnt ricochet off his nose and leave it bloody and broken. Some of those kids out there can take a pretty hard hit. Of course I am sitting in my chair feeling their pain for them, so maybe thats why. And I must say the games can get exciting. Fortunately none of the parents are victory-crazed individuals trying to relive their youth through their kids, so we dont have any name-calling. Mainly the parents want to see that their kid is enjoying themselves. I am very impressed by that because you hear so often on the news about the parents of the baseball team who become cruel and downright scary! My sons team is made up of both boys and girls. Some of the girls are better players and I enjoy watching them play as a unit. The ages range from eight to ten years old and some kids have played soccer longer than others. While they only had two practices before starting their game, they seem to get the general idea of what to do and what not to do. Although one of the kids seems bound and determined to kick that ball to the other team every single time. He has a great kick too, lots of power, but no aim or direction. The coach is easy going and aside from making sure his son plays for the whole time while other kids have to rotate and spend some time out on the sidelines, he is nice enough and I cant complain. I wouldnt have minded being a coach or a helper but at the time I was asked I didnt have my tax money back. Incidentally I am still waiting for my car to get fixed, but thats another article entirely! So while usually Canada is singing Oh the good ol hockey game my son is busy singing oh the good ol soccer game in the car on the way to his game. I coach myself into staying positive and trying to keep smiling, and of course keeping my fingers crossed that the dark clouds looming overhead can keep their big buckets of rain safely inside until we are back at home. ------------ About the author: Nancy Jackson is a full time author and poet with works in Literati, Twilight Times, Anotherealm, Sonny World, and various anthologies. Her pasttimes include spending time with her loved ones, drinking wine, and lots of writing! Email Nancy Jackson: coryann93@yahoo.com Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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