Soccer Updates (Summer)

Games rained out: 2.  

Practices rained out: 0.

There was almost a make-up game over Spring Break. The other team's coach texted me and was traded messaging. I wasn't sure I could field a team and it turned out his assistant wouldn't be around to drive a van to pick up their players! I was relieved since Shane was out of town anyway.

I've started searching soccer drills during my planning periods on Thursdays. So far, I've managed to keep coming up with things that keep them busy and seem effective. There are a few kids on the team who already know a lot, a bunch in the middle, and a few who know next to nothing.

Each week, I feel like it's a minor miracle from God that practice goes off mostly without a hitch. I get anxious before practice, stay busy the whole time during, and then feel grateful that I'm coaching at the end. I had not planned to volunteer and it's been a lot of effort, but it's been a much more rewarding season for me because God pushed me to do it. 

Being a coach does put a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. I want all the kids to learn, get connected to each other, have fun, and go exhausted. 

But not hurt.

There was one injury this season. David, the smallest kid on the team by far, had a shot from Leo hit his hand during practice on 5/4. It was an accident, but Leo kicks hard. David did the quiet cry guys do when they're hurt but don't want to get caught crying. I inspected the arm and figured it stung and might bruise, but he'd shake it off. Then I encouraged him to get right back to practice to get his mind off it (after all, soccer requires more footwork than handwork!). 

I got an email from David's mom later that he'd sprained his arm and had to miss the game that Saturday! There was no blame, but I felt bad for David and for not realizing it hurt enough he'd miss a game.

I probably could have been better with communication outside of games and practices. I sent an email about the game most weeks. It would have been cool if I thought to do more reminders or notes from practices.

I had one player who loved to light up my cellphone. 

Ward only came to a couple of practices. I thought he said his name was 'Lloyd' and he kept saying "Yeah" when I asked if I was saying it correctly. I checked the roster later and saw 'Ward.' He looked older. He was one of the biggest kids on the team, but he was also the youngest (5th grade!).

I was really surprised the first time he started calling me nonstop.

It started around 8 AM. "Is there a game? When is it?" Which was all online. I'd sent an email out, too. I was a little annoyed, but kept it to myself. Ward called me 5 times in a 10-15 minute window later on. This time I was annoyed and showed it.  He asked me a simple question that was posted front and center online. I answered the question, but told him in my family we didn't call back to back unless it was a life or death emergency. I said "Check the website!", because that was where I looked to see if a game was cancelled. I didn't get any special coach emails (which would have been nice).

Well, Ward kept contacting me all year. I got texts and calls each week.

It was annoying, but keep in mind Ward was in 5th grade. The adults in his life either didn't have the English or the interest to keep track of his schedule. He was trying to do it himself. He asked me for a ride a couple of times, but he was NW from the field while we were 30 minutes South and a little East. I could've done it one week, but Shane was out of town. I didn't want to be alone in the car with a youngling when I'd never met his parents in person and couldn't communicate effectively in their language (Arabic - I might have tried if they spoke Spanish). I felt a little guilty about it, but I've known a few people who were falsely accused and I didn't want to risk my livelihood. I probably would have done it if Shane was around, but he went with Nana and Pop to visit Patrick (That's a later post!).

There was some other drama later on with Ward. He made it to one game and wanted to be goalie. I knew he was fasting for Ramadan, so I put him in and made Shane play defense the 1st half. Shane did fantastic on defense, but the other team was good. Ward got upset when they scored on him. He wanted out of goal then! The other players accused him of criticizing them from the goalbox and said Ward even stood aside to let one goal in to prove his point! It didn't look like that to me across the field, but the team was begging for Shane to take over (he appreciated the love! I talked it up and related it to Luke 14:10). 

Ward only came to a few practices and games. His teammates didn't forget his antics and he wasn't super popular as a result. I think he was doing the best he could with what he had. I was able to keep everything upbeat (Leo and Shane started having a little friction towards the end, too, but the season ended before there were any real hard feelings, phew!).

After one of the games Ward did come to, his family was over an hour late picking him up. Thankfully, Francisco stayed with his son. The three boys were able to play around some (Shane eventually got so annoyed at waiting he went off to climb a tree). I wasn't about to leave a kid alone, so we waited it out. Ward was sheepish, but I was clear, "I'm not mad at you." He didn't have any control over the situation. What was there to blame him for? He was just a kid who attended a soccer game.

So when Shane started to complain as we left, I flipped the script on him. "How would you feel if you got left somewhere alone far from home and weren't sure when your parents were coming?" That started an interesting conversation! Ward was bigger than Shane, so it was easy for Shane to forget he was also a year younger than him.

There were many moments in coaching that were educational for me and for Shane. By only having one kid, I've been able and available to commit to some things I probably wouldn't have if I had a larger crew. I'm glad I coached the team this year. I'm happy to step up again if I feel like God calls me to it, but I'm hoping I'm not needed as anything more than an assistant. I plan to sign up for SOKs, because it's a 5 minute drive instead of a 30 minute drive! That'll save me nearly an hour each practice/game!