Okay.....Mark, I knew this subject would eventually come up again. As you recall, because you carded me for it, in the past I have been less than charitable in my feelings toward Soccer. I believe I have stated that it's played by those too stupid to use their hands....or words to that effect................Okay, please pass the salt while I eat my words..............

Michael has played U-10 for a year now and (God help me) I have come to be very involved in the damn game! We go to Columbus Crew games, have some Crew gear, ol' Dad even has a matching "Soccer Dad" shirt to Michael's team shirts...............oy..................It gets worse too. I find myself deeply involved in his games, am an assistant coach, organized this weekend's fundraiser (carwash), and the rest is just too embarassing to go into...........

Okay.....It's a cool game. Michael has a great coach who emphasizes doing your best and learning and having fun over winning. They are working really hard on playing a passing game instead of "bumblebee soccer" and are actually doing well with it. Michael plays at foreward and midfield and has done really well.....He had no skills at all going in and now can always be counted on to be open to pass to as he plays very well away from the ball. He hasn't scored himself, but has had over a dozen good setups and has had some great turnarounds as well. The team is about 50-50 in the win/lose column but that's far better than I would have expected. Michael and 3 other boys from "Black Thunder" also fill in on another team that has had trouble fielding a full team so he's getting a lot of field time.

We play a fall and a spring season and rarely do the kids play with the same team here as opposed to most of the Lancaster teams where the kids tend to play together for years. Hart is a fine coach and this is of course an "everyone plays" league. He is excellent at being sure everyone gets playing time (and not just a few minutes on defense). We have a great group of parents with this team as well and when Hart puts in our weakest kid at goal (the boy loves to play but can't find the ground with his feet) they all cheer heartily for him (while silently praying). Hart plays kids at two positions every game and even if they are horrendous, they do improve. The boys come over and do a cheer in front of the bleachers before the game and the parents do a victory arch (win or lose) after the game.

So Mark, take your damn card back and know that Soccer has another convert.

Spaw
Soccer Dad
Asst. Coach, "Black Thunder"