Soccer Saturdays

 

 

 

Here we come! 

 

What a Saturday to start – highs in the 80’s, bright blue sky.  A kiddo who is so excited to play outdoor Fall soccer!  We had a blast! 

 

Alex’s team is the “Jellyfish”, everyone in the league is a animal member of the ocean, seals, sharks, starfish….  It is a group of 3-4 year olds and the setup is like this: first 20 minutes of each Saturday is practice and the next 40 minutes is a “game”.  We got the t-shirts, put it on and he was off warming up.  There were lots of kids Alex’s age who are just as active as him and are soon to be fast friends.  The warm up was fun, kicking goals, running around, remembering not to pick up the soccer ball with your hands.  Then the game.  It was so fun to watch 3-4 year olds run around, listening to their parents, the coach and the referee. 

 

The first 10 minutes of his game, I could tell Alex didn’t “get” it.  Last year, at indoor soccer, we experienced the same thing when he was place into a too high class (5-6 year olds when he was only 3!).  The “game” is to kick it into your goal, not the other goal.  And if it’s going in the wrong direction, you have to try to get it going in the direction you want.  This is some tough stuff for this age.  Just at the cusp of learning these type of “rules”.  If someone else is kicking it, you have to get in there and kick it the other way – directly the opposite of everything he’s been taught in preschool about sharing. 

 

So, after about 10 minutes, he came to the sideline.  I could tell he was getting a bit frustrated and didn’t know what to do.  He told me on the way to the game that he wanted to make a goal.  And he hadn’t done that yet.  I didn’t want him to start not liking soccer because he didn’t get it. 

 

So, quick – Mom Brain to the rescue! 

 

“Pretend you’re a secret agent and you want the soccer ball to go in that goal (pointing at the right one), not the other goal.  If the ball is going in the wrong direction, try to kick it in the other direction.  If it’s going in the right direction – try to make a goal”. 

 

He has totally been loving the secret agent stuff lately, and I could see the light bulb had gone off.  He “got” it.  He was back in the game after the quick water break and was off! 

 

Literally – he made probably 6-10 goals after that.  They don’t keep score, which is one of the best things about these pee-wee leagues. Everyone gets cheered on and it is so fun.  We have a great team, great set of involved parents and a great group of kids. 

 

He was so proud of himself, he had a smile a mile wide!   We have a soccer boy!