Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Kidz don't really love soccer

Well my kid anyway. The other moms are signing up their kids for soccer in the fall and my gut is telling me not to do it. My son is also telling me that. I asked him if he wants to play soccer again and he said nope. I'd say it's been a good experience for him and he's generally enjoyed it while he's doing it and he's enjoyed talking about it after he's done. But every Saturday morning he says he doesn't want to go. And some how I manage to convince him that he does. I'm good. Actually I usually tell him that he doesn't have to go and that makes him decide to go.

The thing is I think that one of the reasons he doesn't like it much is that he's not very good. And he's not very good because this was his first season! Some of the other kids have been doing this since they were three! This is not league soccer, mind you. It's just skills and running around and having fun. But they do a little mini scrimmage at the end and my son is all over the place. Or, more accurately, he's pretty much in the same place the whole time fiddling with his colored jersey with his head through the arm hole and ties flying around him. But the other kids are in there going for the ball. OK sometimes with their hands, but still. There's a desire there. Not with my son. He tells me after the game that he never got the ball and I explain that he has to go for it. Get in there. Trip someone.

But he's not even FIVE. I didn't start playing soccer until I was seven. And I was never much good, come to think of it. Although there was that one season when I was nine and I learned how to start going one direction with the ball and then switch to the other direction. I was faking out girls left and right the whole season and scored a zillion goals. Good times.

Where was I? Yes, my son. Even if it's not soccer, I would really like to find something that he does get excited about. Whatever it is (secretly I really hope it will be ballroom dancing so he can be on Dancing with the Stars). But don't you kind of have to stick with something long enough to where you're pretty good at it in order to like it? Not that I would know. I never stuck with anything. Because if you get good at something then there are expectations and you might fail. No thanks. Wait, who were we talking about...?

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmm! This story is sounding familiar to me. Didn't you once write an essay about this in high school or in college? about being in so many things that you could never excel in one? Kinda remember this story.

everything's rosie