Soccer Diaries Part I

I always thought one of the exciting things about being a parent is when you get to see your child go to dance class, play soccer or t-ball or some other sort of organized activity. I danced when I was younger, so it's always been a passion for me and when Lexxa told me she wanted to take dance class, I was thrilled! I envisioned watching her in her cute little costumes on stage with the other little ones and only half way doing the dance and looking at the teacher to guide her and the group. So, she went to dance class on and off (between being sick or having other things come up) for a couple of months. I thought she was really enjoying it until one day she told Brad that she didn't want to go to dance class anymore. She said "All I want to do is play soccer, t-ball and golf." My heart was a little broken I have to admit. But, we weren't going to force her to do something that she really wasn't into because maybe someday she'll go back to it and enjoy it.

So, after that, all she could talk about was playing soccer. We made sure to tell her that she can't quit if she signs up...she has to play the whole season before she can say if she likes it and wants to continue or not. She said ok and was really excited to play. So, here's how it's gone down so far:

Week 1 - There is no game on week one, just a chance to meet the team and do a little practice. We go out to the soccer field, we get her orange t-shirt since she's on the orange team. She freaks out and doesn't want to practice or even talk to the other kids. She's just completely attached to us the whole time. It was a little embarrassing because she was fully crying and saying she didn't want to play anymore. But, since she committed to it, we were going to stay the whole time no matter what. After that, we told her that she had to go back and just try again.

Week 2 - So, the set up for week 2 is that the kids practice for about a half hour and then play a game for a half hour. She won't really practice much, but I got her to do some of the drills if I did it with her. My parents and my brother and his girlfriend came out just to watch her play, but they didn't get to watch anything except the other kids running around the field. She was better because she wasn't totally crying this time, but all she did was watch the other kids. Ugh, week 2 was better, but not a success.

Week 3 - Picture day. So, we had to get to the field early on week 3 for individual and team pictures. The day before, Lexxa said she was going to be happy at soccer and that she was going to try. I was happy to hear her at least say that, but I wasn't too hopeful. And, I wasn't sure if she was even going to cooperate for pictures. Well, we got lucky and she took her pictures with no problem...awesome, I thought that it might just be a better day because she was doing so well. I was wrong. When it was time to start practicing and playing, she froze up again and didn't even want to go practice. So we spent another morning watching all of the other kids play soccer while we just sat on the sidelines.

So, my fairytale of cheering Lexxa on now that she's old enough to play in organized sports isn't going so well. Stay tuned to hear how the next few weeks go...it could be a long season!