Put Me In Coach

Soccer season is going well for my daughter and me. Coaching is fun, even if it is a lot like herding ferrets.

We've played four games and the kids have been having a good time running up and down the field chasing the ball. Sometimes they forget to run up and down the field and just stop and stare. I don't know what they're looking at... a butterfly, their grandma, a blade of grass.

One boy on the team is only good for about two minutes, then he runs off the field to hide under his mother's chair. This gets interesting when he's the goalie. Another boy only maintains his energy level when he's off the field. Put him in the game and he's tired. Take him out and he's hyper.

My daughter scored her first goal this week. It was a proud moment to watch her stay with the ball and then aim her kick perfectly into the net. She said to me later, "I want to do that again!"

Hopefully all of these 4-year-olds are having fun and will want to "do that again." I had some coaches in my childhood who yelled and screamed and generally soured me on team sports. At this age it's so important to make exercise and teamwork a positive experience so the kids will want to return to it.