The Joy of Soccer

We are well into our soccer season. Boo plays for the pure enjoyment of running and kicking the ball. He tries hard and he has fun.

Last Saturday was the perfect day for soccer. It was just a tad chilly and the sky was threatening rain. We set up our camp chairs on the side of the field and settled in for a good game. Boo sat out the first quarter. When the ref blew the whistle for the second quarter, Coach Carl looked to Boo and told him he would be goalie. My heart sunk. Goalie? Boo? He is the tiniest player on his team and he had never, not once, not even in practice, played goalie. I wasn’t even sure he knew what to do. I looked at Phil and I could see by his face that he was sharing my thoughts. I voiced my concerns to the other parents there. “It’s ok, don’t worry,” they said. “Even if the other team scores, it’s ok.” Oh sure. Easy for them to say. They didn’t have to go home with a seriously downcast little boy who let the opposing team score 23 goals against him! I wondered to myself if I should say anything to the coach. “Excuse me. Coach Carl? ARE YOU INSANE?” No, I thought, I’m not going to meddle. It’s just kiddie soccer. We’re not even supposed to be keeping score (we all do anyway). Anyway, it was too late. Another dad was helping Boo don the goalie shirt, though on Boo it was a goalie dress. They even had gloves for him, which to be honest, were probably more of a hindrance.

The ref blew his whistle and so began the longest soccer quarter of my life. Poor Boo looked even smaller in a goalie shirt down to his knees, standing in this gi-normous goal. We tried to cheer him on, but his face betrayed his nerves. As the opposing team approached our goal, Boo managed to make himself look even smaller and he seemed to retreat into the goal. Kind of reminded me of our pet hermit crabs. Fortunately, the coach ran over there and gave Boo some pointers. He stepped out from the goal and seemed a little more confident. Our team was actually doing really well at keeping the ball on the other side of the field. It seemed like maybe Boo would just have to stand there during this quarter.

Then it happened, some girl from the other team broke free from our defenders and dared kick the ball at my boy! In his own words, he thought he was a “goner.” He stepped forward, then knelt down and stopped the ball! My boy! Little Boo! Stopped the other team from scoring! The sidelines erupted, “Booooooo! Boooooo!” He grew 5 inches in that moment.

He played forward for the rest of the game, and it don’t know if it was a coincedence, but he played the best game of his life. It was as if in that one stopped goal, all his confidence in his soccer abilities came to the surface. He became aggressive where he used to hang back. He kept control of the ball. He started a passing sequence that led directly to our team scoring. His fellow older, bigger team mates told him “good game.” Even the dad of the best player on our team was saying good things about Boo “just putting his head down and sticking with the ball.”

It was the best kind of day. We let Boo tell the story of his blocked goal as many times, with as many details as he wanted. He’s hoping to play goalie again. So here’s to Boo, goalie and power foward! (and a hat tip to Coach Carl, who clearly knows way more about coaching soccer than I do.)

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