Indoor Opening Night
By Wyatt Earp | January 6, 2009
My 7-year old son Kyle started his indoor soccer season last night, and he couldn’t be more excited. For one, he was finally able to wear his brand new David Beckham indoor soccer shoes. For another, it was his chance to erase the disturbing image of outdoor season – where his team finished the season winless. The indoor league was supposed to be comprised of more equally-talented teams.
Kyle was ready to rock in the pre-game warm-ups:
Judging by the first game, it is a better seated league.
Kyle’s team faced off against Port Richmond, and before the first tap, I noticed something weird. The tallest kid on that squad was about 3’9″. My 4-year old would tower over these kids. Unfortunately for Kyle’s team, they were very good, and their height belied their talent.
Even so, Kyle’s team played very well for a team that was rained out of practice three straight times. (His team doesn’t have an indoor facility to play in, but they do use a local street hockey rink – weather permitting.) In the first five minutes, Kyle had three breakaways. The opposing goaltender made the save every time. Not to be denied, Kyle came in on his fourth breakaway . . . it was the charm. He scored his first goal in a very long while, and celebrated accordingly. Kyle is in the front of the pack – #15:
Yeah, he’s insane. Kyle’s team scored another goal and was ahead 2-0 at halftime. All was right with the world.
And then, Kyle’s coach changed goaltenders. Don’t get me wrong, I think Kyle’s coach is one of the best in the organization, but he has a habit of putting the team’s one ADD problem child in goal. I think that the coach thinks that he can cause less mayhem there. If this league used cards, this kid would get a red ten seconds into the game.
The worst part is that the kid is Jekyll and Hyde. One game he saves every ball kicked his way. The rest of the time, he doesn’t even make an effort. Guess which one showed up tonight?
Port Richmond scored four unanswered goals in the second half, and won the game by a score of 4-2. It was everything I could do to not scream at the top of my lungs. The starting goalie was the coach’s son, and he played out of his mind – he usually does. The relief? Not so much. On the fourth goal, the kid half-bent toward it and watched it roll into the net. Again, I wanted to scream at him, but as the wife always says, “You need to get out of coach mode and back into parent mode.”
I hate parent mode.
The ride home was okay. Kyle was happy that his team played well – for the most part, they did. He was also happy with his dollar. (The rule here is that if he scores a goal or an assist in a game, I give him a dollar. It’s extra incentive to play hard.) Naturally, being my son, he was upset that they lost, but to his credit he never blamed the other goaltender. In fact, he said, “Dad, I should have been covering that kid for the third goal. Sorry.”
And that’s why Kyle is a top-notch young man.
Topics: The Boys | 6 Comments »
Impressive young man you have there.
It is amazing he was still thing about covering someone. I bet he won’t miss the coverage again.
Yeah “Parent Mode” blows.
Sounds like Kyle had a ball, while Dad had all he could do to sit and behave
It’s really nice to know some kids still like playing sports and getting out, instead of sitting in front of a computer game.
Admiral – At lacrosse season, I can yell at the teenagers all I want. It’s hard to see mistakes and not scream out corrections. When Kyle is playing lacrosse, it’s worse, because I know so much about that sport.
E.L. – We give him and Erik 30 minutes of video games, a few times a week. No more. The good thing is that Kyle plays organized soccer, hockey, and lacrosse. Erik plays organized soccer and will be playing hockey later this year. They’re active enough, and that makes me happy.
Peer pressure can be a killer (unfortunately, literally at times).
To counter peer pressure the real experts propose:
1) Make sure they know they are loved and their parents (esp. Dad) have time for them
2) Get them involved in an activity where they get positive feedback. Depending on the child, that means sport, music or a pet (not everyone can do sport and get a positive feedback from it).
That way the child does not have to rely on his peer group for emotional support and fulfillment.
Looks like you are doing pretty well, Marshall!!
You have a great lad there. All the best.
Alan
Sounds like a good son.
Did you imitate the announcer – GOOOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!
Alan – Thank you.
Doghouse – Dang. Now you tell me!