Kids, Sports, and their Parents...

Its that time of year again. The girls are playing soccer. Bailey and Peyton are on a Pre-Challenge league together and Reagan is making her soccer debut. And as exciting and fun as it is to watch my girls play it can be so frustrating too. John and I are kind of hard on the girls when it comes to sports. I know, I know, I lose my Parent of Year award. We both have a own selfish agendas, John does it because, well, he has played, breathed, eaten, and coached soccer his entire life, what else can you expect from a Soccer Dad? I think his dream is to watch at least one, but in the ultimate fantasy it would be all three of his girls play collegiate soccer. I am sure there is a pride issue, too, that here he is an Englishman, playing and coaching soccer, surely his daughters should be natural soccer players. For me, it is more about what I didn't accomplish in my youth. Sure I played sports in High School and was pretty good. But I never played to my potential, because I was scared. Its warped, I know, but hey, we all have our quirks. So when I watch them play, in a way, I am living through them, hoping they won't do what I did. And I've watched my girls play many times and I know when they are holding back and when they are playing all out. I'm not saying they are going to be stars, but they are all pretty good players when they want to be.

Bailey, is the one with the most natural talent. She strikes a pretty ball, she is smart on the field and doesn't get flustered. But that child is like a mouse (John's word). She is content to just run beside the ball without ever touching the thing. She won't initiate a tackle to save her life. But this child is just like me. It is like watching my life from the outside. So I am constantly hounding her about being more aggressive in soccer and in life. Poor child.

Peyton, on the other hand, isn't the most skillful, but is a worker bee, when she wants to be. There are times she is all over the field, but other times you wouldn't even notice her. So frustrating to be on the sidelines.

I can't say a whole lot about Reagan because this is first year, but she is the most aggressive of the lot. It is almost the opposite situation with her. Everytime she gets the ball she goes to goal. I almost feel like I should tell her to stop, but with all that we've gone through with the other two, I wouldn't dare.

Well, last week after practice, John was so disappointed in their behavior he really let them have it. He told them that he didn't want to watch them play if they didn't play with their heart. I felt sorry for them and thought he was too hard on them. Afterwards I told John that I didn't want them to give up playing sports because of us and that I just wanted to support them.

Yesterday we had practice. John couldn't make it b/c of a college game, but he would have loved it. Bailey and Peyton came out and played like someone had lit a match under the backside. It was like two different girls out there. It was a lot of fun to watch and I was so proud of them. I hope they can keep that fire all season. It was funny, they knew they had done well, they could feel it too and they came off the field smiling from ear to ear.

Can't wait 'til Saturday....