Wow! It’s been a long time since I popped in here.
What have I been up to?
Well two more pregnancies! Coaching, Homeschooling, Volunteering… Motherhood.
Tonight I was compiling an e-mail to send out to the coaches in the region where we volunteer to coach. I’m not only a coach but the Safety and Equipment director, my husband is the RC, and I just end up doing a little bit of everything. Tonight i’m making up a schedule for lining the fields.
But what came to my mind while I was trying to get that email sent out?
Lets read:
I know how much time, patience, and perseverance it takes to look at a roster full of children and work on molding even the most difficult children into soccer players! Sometimes it can be thankless, but so many times it can also be heartwarming.
While AYSO is about balanced teams we all know that not all regions agree with that philosophy. I have coached in regions that did not make it a point to balance teams, and I got the C team. I have had players who were afraid to kick the ball, I have had players who just refused to do what I said, and I have had players who just had no clue and let the ball roll right by them into the goal while they’re counting on their fingers and talking about how their shadow looks like a penguin.
And at the end of the season I had one sweet little girl look at me and ask “Coach, do you think I’m a good soccer player?” Guys, she was not one of the best players on the team in terms of talent and athletic ability! But you know what I said to that little girl? I got down on her level and I said to her “Let me ask you a question first. Did you have fun?” She replied “Yes” and then I asked, “Did you do your best?” And she replied “Yes.” I said “Then as far as I’m concerned, you’re one of my best players. Because talent means nothing if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing.”
It’s easy to give an untalented player more bench time or even overlook them because they’re difficult to coach. But When striving to follow the philosophy of positive coaching, player development, and everyone plays sometimes you need to dig really deep for a few nuggets of wisdom. Because we don’t want to lie, nor do we want to tear down a child. I don’t know where that girl is today, and the flower she gave me is long gone. But the joy she showed me by the simple response I gave her, and the tears in the corners of her mother’s eyes at the response I gave… That seared in my brain.
I will also never forget when she was having trouble keeping up with the other girls while running a lap around the field. That girl looked so defeated! (And I was pregnant with Gideon at the time) I took a hold of her hand and ran the lap with her. She wasn’t the fastest runner, the strongest kicker, or the most knowledgeable in the sport. SHE DIDN’T EVEN LIKE RAINBOWS AND UNICORNS! But she was a sweet little girl, who just wanted the opportunity to play soccer.
We had another little girl on the same team who was afraid to kick the ball! SHE’S PLAYING SOCCER! The ball would roll toward her and she would just giggle. We had an extra pick up game at the end of the season, and I asked her parents If they were going to make it, and the mom said “Well we saw the e-mail but we thought you sent it to us by mistake because our daughter is the worst player on the team.” I told them “Nope if she can make it I want her there! She’s on my team, and my team has a game to play. It is open to the whole team not just the ones who are the best.”
So what have I been doing these past 4+ years? Teaching my children how to be a decent human being through life experiences.
Also I apparently still look 22! I got told so on Field Day!
Basically a Homemaker 