I tried playing soccer one year when I was young and I absolutely, completely hated it. Despised it didn’t want anything to do with it and frankly was quite terrible at it. I didn’t get the rules, I wasn’t a great runner and I was such a klutz that if I actually managed to touch the ball I was more likely to step on it rather than kick it. After that one try I vowed I would never have anything to do with soccer again.
That’s why years later I’m so surprised to find I have such a genuine love for the game. I certainly never expected to begin first assistant coaching, now coaching and being asked to join the association’s board. For someone who once hated the game I seem to be involved in an awful lot of soccer.
When my oldest first asked to try soccer in kindergarten I had my doubts but said ok. I may have hated the game myself but I firmly believe in letting my kids determine for themselves what they enjoy. That first year I will admit that I didn’t expect her to enjoy it, in fact I expected it to go over about as well as it had with me.
Well I was wrong she loved it and she was looking forward to playing the next year. Instead the area we lived in was unable to put together a soccer program and she wasn’t able to play that year or the next. By the time we moved I thought she had forgotten about soccer but she hadn’t. She was ecstatic to find a well developed soccer program and begged me and her dad to sign her up and so of course that’s what we did.
She’s played every year since and now plays year round both indoor and outdoor and over the years as I‘ve watched her grow as a player I’ve become more and more fascinated by the game. I’ve learnt the rules I’ve cheered her on and I’ve began to get involved.
Then my youngest began to ask if she could play, hoping that it wasn’t an attempt to emulate her sister we signed her up and discovered that she too seems to love it. So when this year’s outdoor season began and my youngest needed a coach I stepped into the role and I realized that I actually do enjoy the game just as much as my girls do.
I suppose it helps that my kids not only love the game but that while my youngest is still developing her basic skills my oldest has begun to really excel at the game. Watching your child succeed at something they have a passion for is rewarding in and of itself. She plays goalkeeper arguably one of the most challenging and dangerous positions to play and she does it well.
For someone who started out loathing soccer I’ve made quite the turn around, although I still occasionally step on the ball now I can actually kick it to.
