Sports-Mom

Ethan and Micah are playing their first soccer seasons with American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) in West Chicago. This is their third Saturday to play. I must admit the first two Saturdays were somewhat of a sacrifice for me as I sat out in the mud and rain cheering on a five-year-old who did not want to play and a an eight-year-old who loves it--especially the social aspect of being part of a team. And I felt something stir deep within, a beast awakening from a slumber, and though I tried to keep that beast at bay, the "sports-mom" emerged anyway.

I find myself fighting with the sports-mom within--the mom who yells loudly, running along the sidelines while trying to coach the kid herself, the one who will yell at the ref when she doesn't agree with the call, or the one who, in seeing deficiencies in her child, feels the need to start a daily practice chart to get them up to speed. I am deeply conflicted as I'm suddenly forced to interact with the sports world. I feel like I need therapy every Saturday afternoon to deal with sports-mom, not to mention my own gym bag full of issues from childhood athletic competitions. Where's the middle road between not caring at all and caring too much? I can't find it!

My issues aside, the boys have improved each week. Micah has gone from standing on the field while crying and refusing to play the first week to actually playing most of the game today and scoring three goals. However, he didn't really seem interested in playing defense. He was perfectly happy for his teammates to do all the work and then pop in to score a goal here and there. As Nathanael pointed out, he's a true Brazilian soccer star:). For those of you who actually know Micah, you might find it humorous that at one point he even trapped the ball under his foot, stopped, made a come-hither motion and said, "Come and get it!" Where did he learn that little bit of trash talk!?! (Don't worry; he'll be unlearning it.)

Ethan has a very good understanding of the game,and he's working hard to translate that knowledge into action. He's improved each week and has had some nice saves and great passes. Today, on our first sunny game day, they both had a really good time and felt proud of their efforts. If they're happy, I guess sports-mom will try to be happy, too. You may notice there are no pictures of Ethan today; sports-mom totally overtook blog-mom during that game.