Coach

I agreed to coach Sophie's soccer team after I was told nobody else would do it...nothing like a little pressure to persuade me. Our first game was last Wednesday and I had no idea what I was doing, but we won, 2-1. Our second game was Saturday and I knew a bit more, but we lost, 6-3. Maybe Orwell was right, "Ignorance is bliss."

As I tell my girls on the team, the most important thing is to have fun, though when I ask them, "What is the most important thing?" they still respond, "To pass!" or "To kick the ball!" I am definitely having fun and learning a lot, such as I will probably lose my voice after every game because I'm a screamer...I'm not yelling at the girls, I'm just really excited. I really don't like sports, in general, but I found myself calling out all kinds of sports terms during the last game and I'm feeling like I'm discovering a new side to myself, the coach side.

This is the side of me that runs up and down the field along with my girls, energized and motivated by their efforts. This is also the side of me that believes good sportsmanship is more important than a higher score, but who also likes getting the higher score. This is the side of me that is focused on the game, which is unbelievable since my attention span with sports usually wanes after 15 minutes.

I'm even setting up drills and jotting things down for tomorrow's practice, ready to focus on some areas that were tough during our last game. What is this thing going on? I hate sports! And yet, I can't help myself, it's really, really fun.