Last week marked the advent of having two children in after school sports at the same time. One had practice Tuesday, one had practice Thursday, and they had back to back games on Saturday. I’m a firm believer in each child only being allowed one after school activity at a time, and this might not sound like much but it’s more than enough.
It was really hot, and Nathan’s soccer field was much bigger than the younger kids’ field, so there was no way he could hear me from where I was sitting. Which is a shame because he is a bit lost on the field this year, trying to figure out actual positions instead of just chasing the ball everywhere. So he spent a lot of time just standing in one spot while the one coach (there should be two) tried to encourage the others. We were most definitely out couched in that game.
Nathan’s game ended just barely in time for him to collect his snack while I packed up our two camp chairs. I had, of course, forgotten to bring an extra snack for Alex. I really hate to be late, or even not early enough for Alex to warm up, so I rushed off with hardly a word to the other parents. We trudged across the complex to Alex’s game where I found my neighbor, Chuck, coaching the four year olds with an iPad in his hand.
Now Chuck is a great guy, but a sports fanatic he is not. He’s a tech geek and a musician…super friendly and laid back. I was surprised and grateful to hear he would be coaching Alex this year. His assistant coach, Diego, is much more the soccer guy. Chuck was concerned with making sure each kid got the same amount of playing time so he found an app to help him rotate kids in and out. I had to laugh.
When his wife arrived she saw the futility of him trying to coach with an iPad in hand so he passed it off to her, and she promptly passed it off to me, knowing I’m a bit techy myself. It was a good idea in theory, but I had trouble figuring out when to start and stop the clock, and around halftime the iPad overheated and just quit.
Like I mentioned…it was HOT out. Texas hot. Summertime hot, not September hot. Also the field was a dustbowl, lacking in any grass at all because of our extreme drought, so we all got to be utterly filthy, including my boot and the bare toes sticky out from it.
Alex played well enough for his first game but I am surprised by his lack of aggression. He had seemed very aggressive when playing at home on his own, but I guess it’s different with a pack of boys and one ball. His team got beat pretty badly, but I don’t think he even noticed.
One really amusing part of having both kids in soccer now is watching Nathan coach Alex. As soon as Nate figured out that Alex would be on a real team this year, he took him out in the backyard and tried to teach him some skills. He even got him to run around the yard, telling him it would build speed and endurance. (Ok, so he didn’t use those words, exactly.) During the game he cheered for Alex and gave him coach-like pep talks on the sideline.
This is all really hilarious coming from our not especially enthusiastic, non-athlete. It’s tremendous watching the two brothers interact with love and respect…at least some of the time.
Almost makes being a soccer mom worth it.
Are your kids in sports? Do you enjoy it?
