Soccer 2012

Last year, we asked Cortlan if he would be interested in playing t-ball in the summer or soccer in the fall.  He responded with a convincing "no" and we didn't push.  Afterall, he was only four and there were no signs that he was ready for organized sports.  Over the winter, I noticed that Spring soccer registration began in January, and towards the end of December, I mentioned in passing that we would sign him up if he was interested.  In early January, he let us know that he wanted to try.  I was surprised, in a way, but also hopeful and a little bit excited that he was asking to play soccer instead of us trying to convince him to give it a shot.  I waited a week and asked him multiple times, just to be sure, before shelling out the nice chunk of money and suggesting soccer gear to relatives for his birthday.  He got a new ball, water bottle, gear bag and shin guards/socks for his birthday, and we registered him for his first experience at a team sport.

That was January.  His first soccer practice/game wasn't until the second week of April.  That is a lot of time to lose interest, and as the day approached, it was hard to tell if Cortlan was excited at the prospect or nervous and dreading it.  Knowing him, I knew that we could expect anything from standing on the sidelines frozen in place and not participating in the least to going out there and giving it his best try, laughing and joking with his teammates. 

A completely clueless newbie soccer mom, I googled exactly what we were supposed to do with the shin guards and socks on that first day, and got him dressed in his uniform.  I was expecting the worst and hoping for the best (and admiring how cute he looked in his gear) as the whole family drove to the field.

Cort meeting his coach.  He did switch and shake hands with the correct hand; unfortunately, that isn't what I got a picture of, however.

To our surprise, Cortlan showed a surge of confidence as he met his coach and shook his hand.  John went out of the field to kick around with him a bit, but it wasn't long before he was kicking the ball around with his teammates.  The team warmed up, practiced for about 20 minutes, and then met the team that they were going to play.  Cortlan ran up and down the field and even got his foot on the ball a few times.

John and I juggled and multitasked throughout the season, with only one of us attending the event at a time.  The cold and wet days went to John, while Ev and I grocery shopped; the sunny days went to me, while John mowed the lawn.  On those cold and wet days at the beginning of the season, John would come home and tell me how impressed he was with Cortlan...not once did he complain or refuse to do anything and he always got out there and did his best to do what the coach told him to, despite the cold weather or rain.  It was rare that the entire team was in attendance, but Cort never missed a game, and sometimes (on the coldest and wettest days) he was on the field practically the entire time, as there was no one to rotate in to replace him.

There were clearly kids on the team who had played on the fall team and/or had older siblings from whom they had learned.  Cortlan may have been the only one who really never played soccer before.  His personality is not a competitive or aggressive one, so going after the ball was not really a strength of his.  Especially when there was someone else on the field who was a soccer superstar, Cortlan would tend to back off.  But he ran up and down the field in the group of kids, laughed, listened to his coach, gained some confidence, and had some good fun (while occasionally watching the butterflies).  Despite my frustration at times (like when the ball hit him in the foot and he didn't kick it), thinking back, Cortlan did exceed my expectations and I am proud of him for trying.  Who knows if he will do it again, but at least he gained some valuable experience and learned a lot this season.  I did, too.