First Post

I spend most days down at the field, watching my 5 kids on their various teams practice. Practice. Practice.

I spend a lot of that time watching -- my kids practicing, my non-practicing kids at the moment fighting (mostly), the wack job parents critiquing the practice, their kids practicing, or the other kids practicing with their kids.

All this time watching can be entertaining. In a sick, twisted sort of way. It can also be very sad. You see a lot of life on those sidelines. You see kids crumble, parent-child relationships deteriorate, expectations (often much too lofty) shatter. You see happy kids out there kicking a ball, and unsatisfied adults who wish they could be kicking that ball for their kids. After all, they know better. Maybe not the technique of kicking the ball exactly, or putting it to space, or performing that perfect first touch and playing it fast, but the more important knowledge -- how to be the best.

You wouldn't believe the politics and scheming that goes on within the conversations on those sidelines. You wouldn't believe the jockeying for position in which those parents participate. That is, unless you have a competitive soccer player yourself.