April 25, 2008

Soccer Coaches are like a Box of Chocolates...

It is kind of hard for me to describe "the dictator," aka Evan's soccer coach with out you being able to hear her. Don't get me wrong, I think it takes a really gifted, special person to handle a group of first and second graders...short attention spans, frequent need for a bathroom, toilet humor, endless questions etc. She is not a very patient lady, so imagine someone saying "line up, line up...hurry up" in a very impatient voice while giving you .243 seconds to comply and you are about 20 yards from where she wants you to line up. Sounds frustrating, now imagine you are 7 years old.

At the first practice I was somewhat bothered. Natalie joined me and we joked around about it. After the coach talked to the parents I saluted and said "Aye, aye captain" as I walked back to my seat. Practice came to an end and I asked Evan, "How did you like it?" I was prepared to quit. This is for fun and if he wasn't going to have fun well then... He loved it. And at the second practice the coach was the same and he loved it. He even said he really liked his coach. What is it that children can see (or accept) in people that adults can't?

Needless to say, lessons were learned. No silly, not soccer lessons, life lessons. Am I going to let him quit anytime the situation isn't exactly what he expects? No, he has to learn how to make commitments and stick with them, and he needs to learn how to deal with people that bother him. So unless she starts berating the children or making them feel bad about themselves, she'll just have to be my chocolate covered maple cream.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmmm...lessons we learn from kids and crazy soccer coaches. If I had a nickel for every lesson I learned from a crazy soccer coach....

Anonymous said...

I loved that one of the parents heard you and laughed when you said "Aye, aye captain".

Chocolate covered maple cream?