I mentioned before that I would be coaching my daughter’s spring soccer team. I didn’t really go into this spring planning on coaching, but they needed another coach and I thought I might be useful.
I was a bit nervous about it though, as I’ve never coached soccer and I’ve never coached little girls. I did coach my unit’s flag football team while at Ft. Lewis for two years with mixed results - the first year we were great, the second year we sucked. But twenty-something Army Infantry guys are a lot different from 8-year-old girls. And flag football is lot different than kids’ soccer. I have played four years of organized soccer, three in junior high and high school and another as an adult so I’m not clueless when it comes to the game. Nevertheless, I was still worried how it would work out.
So far we’ve had 4 practices and I have to say that I am having a blast and they are too. Apparently, I relate pretty well with 8-year-old girls. At that age they still think being goofy is funny. And one thing I’m good at is being goofy!
I don’t know at what age girls stop liking goofyness, but hopefully I still have another couple of years with Regan and her friends. Luckily my wife has never stopped liking goofy stuff, which is good for me!
All but two of my girls have already played at least two years so I’m not starting from scratch. I just hope that I am actually teaching them some soccer fundamentals and skills as well as having fun. We’ll soon find out, our first game is next Tuesday.