Sunday, April 01, 2007

Soccer


My kids started soccer this week.

Soccer with 4 and 6 year-olds is funny.

First, a butterfly can derail an entire game (or practice) as the children abandon the soccer balls and chase after creation. I sort of like this, and would like to see a "butterfly rule" incorporated into the World Cup.

Second, the league we're a part of is a "fun league" meaning that we play for fun and the building of self-esteem (we voted on whether to buy trophies at the end of the season). So every kid plays at every game and I think they rotate through the positions.

I noticed, though, that the coaches have very different styles. Z's coach is a woman, and she focuses on having fun and building skills. I honestly don't know what will happen when Z has her first game next week, because I'm not sure she understands how to play.

A's coach is a very serious man, who focuses on... GOALS. "Take this ball to the end of the field, then come back and kick it... into the goal. Now let's pretend that the balls are easter eggs and the goal is your basket. Put your eggs... in the basket." Then there was a scrimmage. Which at this age is basically a mob surrounding a ball which occasionally makes some sort of motion toward the goal.

Other favorite kids' soccer rule: "If someone is lying on the ground, everyone stops kicking until they stand up."

3 comments:

  1. I've been to a 4 year old soccer game. The highlight was picking dandilions and ignoring the ball. Made for some very cute pictures.

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  2. dude, i didnt know you knew what soccer was?

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  3. Anonymous7:59 PM

    I remember going to one of your first games. The first quarter was truely an eye opening experience! As long as one child had the ball, everyone ran along with him. Of course, the parents were all yelling 'take the ball, take the ball away from him'. You looked over with the look that said "you've got to be kidding! We're supposed to share and not take things from someone else." I yelled that it was OK, it was part of the game to tkae the ball away, it was OK; now go get the ball. The rest of the game was more on the level of mongolian horde dynamics; where ever the ball was on the field, there was the horde. Dad

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