We took Caelah to her very first soccer practice. I have to say, it was a pure entertainment. You have all heard about kids in the outfield at a t-ball game picking wild flowers and picking their noses. Well, in a tots soccer game, there is no time for picking anything. It's all: RUN! The general effect is that of a buzzing cloud of tiny people trailing the ball around en masse, like a human comet. This is true even if the ball strays far, far, off course. If one kid goes, they all go. At one point, the comet of wee folk made it all the way into the next game across the field before they were reigned in. They also, on a few occasions veered towards the bystanders, weaving between picnic blankets, and terrorizing infants. One poor boy ran into a lawn chair and winded himself.
A really fantastic twist developed when the comet of wee folk came across a second ball along the way. The group instantly split in two, creating two buzzing clouds, aimlessly kicking away. I say aimlessly because it is as though the nets do not exist. Even if the kiddos could see past one another to locate the whereabouts of the nets, they have not yet developed the coordination to steer the ball towards them. As for the goals that did miraculously occur, they were scored in whichever net presented itself first. Team Bubblegum frequently scored on team Bubblegum's poor goalie. And team Wild Kittens, less frequently, scored on team Wild Kitten's, often absentee, goalie.
Why, oh why, does there always have to be a Bad Kid? Ours took the form of a ridiculously cute kid in a red ball cap. Tiny and dark, but ruthless. He obviously viewed every child on the field as an obstacle, deserving of a good shove. Boy, girl, smaller than him, bigger than him. All shove-able. Caelah was targeted more than a few times, but though my red hot momma-bear defenses went up, I had to admit the kid had guts!
Hats off to the coaches. Derrick and Tori. I think all our hearts went out to them. First, there was the name game. The kids passed a soccer ball in a circle, saying their name and favourite colour, as the receieved it. More than a few shy girls, Caelah included, broke down and ran crying to their moms. Then there was the "passing" drill. This one was doomed before it began. Derrick spent 15 minutes trying to partner the kids and space them apart. But every time he got one pair organized, the next would have strayed apart and wondered off. Even once he did get them aligned, the balls most certainly did not go back and forth, but side to side, and all over the place. After the ordeal was over I saw Derrick mouth to Tori; "That did NOT work..."
Allow me a moment to bask in parental pride. Caelah was fantastic. First of all, she looked really cute. She happened to have these sneakers at home that look like adidas, but with pink stripes, so she looked the part. Second, despite the name game fiasco, she got completely involved in everything. She listened to Derrick patiently, and completed his instructions perfectly. And she proved to be a super runner. During a running drill around the field, she was right on Derrick's heels while most of the other kids got tired and stopped after one lap. When she did get the ball during the game, she had control. She stopped, and tried to direct it back the right way. She really knows how to kick thanks to her daddy.
I for one am looking forward to the stories that will no doubt emerge from a summer's worth of soccer for wee folk.
