Once a Soccer Mom, Always a Soccer Mom

It's that time of year when I wax nostalgic. The sun is starting to shine again, the days are getting warmer, trees are budding and flowers are sprouting up. But my favorite thing about this time of year would be the sights and sounds of soccer season. The cheering. The whistles blowing. The orange slices at halftime and the donuts after. I love this time of year. You see, I'm a soccer player AND a soccer mom. The best of both worlds. I have played all my life, and am still playing soccer. Yes, I'm in my forties and I am still loving soccer. But being a soccer mom is just as much fun to me. I have seen moms putting comments on Facebook today about how fun their kids games were. I have also in the past seen moms complain about being a soccer mom. My son turns 21 in a couple of months and I totally miss being the full-time soccer mom. I still go to some of his indoor games, and have even played on a couple of indoor teams WITH him, but it's not the same. So I'm going to share some of my soccer mom memories with anyone who will listen (or read).

I bought my son his first soccer ball before he was born. Poor kid didn't have a chance.

As soon as my son could walk he was dribbling the soccer ball. By the time he was two I was kicking the ball at him and making him dive on it. I figured the worst position he could play was goalie and I didn't want him to have any fear of the ball. Good thing since he ended up as the Varsity goalie at his high school.

He played on his first team when he was 4. No, he didn't have the killer instinct yet. Instead , he would watch his shadow or chase blowing leaves across the field. Then he would suddenly notice the game was going on, run over, take the ball down and score. Then go back to chasing leaves.

And my son has always been a sucker for girls, even on the soccer field. One game I watched him pick a dandelion in the middle of a game, spit on it, then give it to a girl on the other team. Awww shucks!

He did get more serious and more emotional about soccer. The big guys were really hard on him because he could dribble circles around them. But after getting teary-eyed he'd get real mad.

When he was eleven, he was scoring on average 6 goals a game. He was unstoppable. One game was against a team coached by our neighbor. As I was sitting on the sidelines watching the game, a mom from the other team told the coach that she heard my son was so good because his mom had played semi-pro soccer. Astonished, my neighbor turned to me and asked if it was true. Unfortunately not, but it made me smile. My son had become the stuff of legends!

High school soccer was tough on this soccer mom. Goalie is the loneliest spot on the field. That first game that the coach pulled the varsity goalie and put my son in was terrifying. It was his junior year and he was the varsity goalie from there on out. The team went from last place to being in a 3-way tie for a spot in the playoffs. My son was awarded the Impact Player of the Year by his coach.

Oh but we're not done yet. My son practiced last year with the Weber State team and I'm sure he'll be playing with them in no time. He's a determined kid. Good thing, 'cause I'm not ready to give up the title of soccer mom. Enjoy it while it lasts ladies, because you'll miss it when it's gone. Now where are those orange slices?