Wade's World: Hadassah Fall Soccer

So...we signed Hadassah up for soccer. We managed to get special permission to allow her to "play down" one age group. (For all you non-sporting parents, that means she was playing with kids one year younger. Usually this is NOT allowed for safety reasons) So Hadassah was placed on a team with first graders...she was still the smallest kid on the team.

Now this is where my past coaching experience and basic philosophy on all kids sports starts to get in the way...

First of all, though I am highly competitive by nature, I prefer for my kids to just play recreational sports. I love for them to try out a sport...see if they like it...learn something new...make new friends...and most importantly...HAVE FUN!! I prefer for the emphasis not to be on wins vs. losses but on skill development.

When Christopher made me start coaching Elijah's soccer team, I had never played soccer before and knew only a little about the game from watching my older three play. However, I treated my coaching "job" like anything else in life so I researched, studied, and learned all I could. I read stacks of books and watched coaching videos from the library. I watched professional soccer matches. I took the required coaching course very seriously and chanted the motto "No laps! No lines! No lectures!" Then I started coaching my 3 and 4 year olds...INSANITY!

What was truly amazing over my years coaching my team was always watching the kids develop into better players. We had TONS of fun in practice. Ever dribbled a soccer balls like an elephant or a peguin before? We played games...lots of games that seemed to have nothing to do with soccer, but they were all geared to developing specific skills. Then we'd scrimmage a little bit. As they got older, I could talk and teach some stratigic "plays" to help them learn how to play smarter. The biggest key to developing a soccer player is time and touches with the soccer ball

So maybe you are getting a picture of my dream coach for Hadassah?

Okay, please know that I think her coach was a really nice man, a dad who loves his kids...but this was NOT the perfect team for my littlest girl.

Too much emphasis was placed on winning. Scrimmaging was a large portion of practice time (less touches per child). Plus the coaches talked in coach language, "Play up! Defense! Down field!"

Uhm...do you get it? My little girl had only been learning English for about 8 months. "Up" is that direction where a ball bounces and clouds fill the sky. "Down" is the other way a ball moves toward the ground. "Defense"? I don't see any fences?

The longer the season went on, the more frustrated and defeated Hadassah became. She just quit playing. Games were so loud and confusing. Her coaches often stuck her down by the goal as the "sweeper" because she couldn't keep up with all the bigger kids and "fight" for the ball. She had no clue what she was doing by the goal. She did score one goal during the season...for the other team.

This mama bear had a really hard time. My baby girl was hurting inside. The final game...we didn't even have her play.

Soccer? Well, she still LOVES to play with her siblings! Though she wouldn't play with her team, she'll fight her big brother for the ball any day of the week!

Enjoy the pix...she was incredibily cute even if she wasn't the super star soccer player of the century!

The first Saturday was her team's "Bye" week.

She still had fun watching her brother and sister play. : )