Soccer- it's not for everyone

This is a long overdue post...

We were so excited to find out that the YMCA in our city has a 3 year old soccer league. In doing my research it sounded like a great fit for Big. Only 3 year olds, 6 weeks long (meets only once a week) and it was cheap ($50)- so if it ended up being a total flop we won't lose a major investment.

Big is a man who appreciates preparation. So we prepped a lot before the first practice. We practiced kicking the ball, talked about the team and how to play the game. I knew we were in trouble though as soon as we left the driveway and he said "mom, I'm getting a little scared" (my sweet soft- hearted first born). And I knew we were facing uncertain doom when we pulled up at the field and approximately 1million sets of parents and kids were EVERYWHERE. With much confusion and drama, crying and leg hugging we did find our way to his assigned field and met the other Golden Eagles. Practice started with some harmless kicking warm-ups - cue meltdown. Big does not like new things, he does not like crowds and unfamiliar people and this was an unholy convergence of all this worst fears. Luckily, Brad (who was at the fire station) was able to sneak over to the field and watch practice. He came in handy because while Big was losing it, Little was tapping into his previously unused soccer talent. He was all about it, kicking and dribbling the ball. He got compliments from the coach and other parents and participated more in that practice than half the kids on the team!

Long story short - Big did finally participate in the last 2 mins of practice and begrudgingly agreed to try it again the next week. Over the next few weeks, he did make some progress. No more (major) meltdowns and he did learn not to touch the ball with his hands and to kick towards the goal (although there was often much confusion between both teams as to which goal was theirs). By the end of the season his M.O. had become to play the first 10 mins of the game and then come sit on the sidelines the rest of the time and eat a snack (ring any bells, Uncle Matt). When I asked him at the last game how he liked playing soccer he told me "soccer is no fun".

We did discover one part of the whole experience he liked though. At the end of each game the team would come together, put their hands in and cheer "Go Eagles". He is still talking about that...maybe he has a future in cheerleading (nobody tell Brad I said that)?!