The Soccer Player

A lot of the kids in our neighborhood play soccer, and for more than a year now, Mr. Trouble on Feet has been waiting to join their ranks.  He plays with his soccer ball in the yard every single day.  He located Mr. SP’s old soccer cleats a long time ago, and they are his footwear of choice, for everything.  His bigger friends gave him their old soccer uniforms, so he has a complete soccer wardrobe, with a different soccer shirt for every day of the week.  He loves his shin guards.  He’s watched little video clips with Dr. Peds about soccer drills for preschoolers, and then they reenact them in the front yard.

So, we signed him up for soccer this summer.  Luckily for me, he was still eligible for the soccer program for ages three and four, which means that soccer is only once a week.  He’s on the “dark red” team, which along with the blue team works with two coaches on different games that develop soccer skills.  It’s low key, no pressure, and only happens once a week during  the month of June, opposed to other soccer programs that last months and happen multiple days per week.  This is a perfect way to start out, and Mr. TOF is so very excited to don his soccer apparel and zoom off to the soccer field.  He is one fast and determined kid on the field, and he actually does really well controlling his soccer ball. Unlike his bigger brother in the preschool years, he is determined and focused and knows what he is doing and where he is going all the time.    He was so excited to start soccer that we had a count down on the calendar, his very own idea.  Soccer did not disappoint! His very favorite part is when they get to have a race to the goal with their soccer balls.  Unlike some of the littlest kids on the field, who are very apprehensive about being there, Mr. TOF jumps right into whatever his coaches are doing, bounding away from me and his waterfall to catch the next exciting activity.