Soccer Delila Style -or- The Deal

 

Last winter, all Delila could talk about was, "when I have MY t-ball...", and, "when I have MY soccer...".  T-ball went fine, and Lila did quite well.  Soccer...well, it's a bit of a different story.  When we were putting the team together, she was very excited about it, but now that the season's actually begun...well, she's singing a different tune.  In spite of the pink shoe laces...

  

and the well-coordinated, hoochy practice attire, our sporty little lady has put up all kinds of resistance to actually playing the game.  Practices have been an exercise in public child abuse avoidance for me.  Exasperation doesn't even begin to sum it up.  Game day was not much different.  Her game was at 9:00.  Her insistence that she wasn't playing began around 7:30.  And, for the first time in my parenting experience, I resorted to outright bribery to get her to play.  "Delila, if you stop screaming, put on these clothes, go out an play without tears & tantrums, I will...."  ~sigh~  It doesn't make me proud, but, with a few gentle reminders, our Deal did the trick.

 

She was all pregame smiles for Daddy...

 

 ...and tickled pink with the tastefully understated game day hair accessory provided by Ms. Lisa.

 

In spite of it all, she was still a little trepidatious about going out on the field.  (When I asked her why, she said she was afraid she wouldn't be any good.  Ahhh...our little perfectionist.  Wonder where she gets that from.)

One more reminder of our Deal and she was ready to take the field...

 

...and ready to score some goals!

 

Unfortunately for Delila, so was Calder - who's a little bigger, a little faster, and a little more competitive.

 

Our poor little Ladybug ended the game with a broken heart. (A game which we won 4 - 2, according to Big Brother, Jake)

 

The tears quickly subsided once the Deal was honored:  a "Hannah M'Tana" CD to call her very own.  It made her very happy, and crowned me "The best Mommy in the whole world"...for about 15 minutes.  Totally worth it! Next week's game's at 10:00.  I'm hoping it'll go a little better.  I'm hoping I wont have to make any more deals and that Delila scores a goal.  Keep your fingers crossed...for both of us.

Go Lightning!!

Well, spring soccer is over. We'll be sitting out the summer session in order to play T-ball. Who wants to do all that crazy ball chasing in the hot Texas sun anyway. (Or should I say, what parents want to jump up and down screaming on the sidelines in that hot Texas sun?!)

But seriously. Our Lightning did a fantastic job this season. It's amazing to see how much the boys have grown and improved since their inaugural season last spring. And even more amazing to see how the parents have matured -- at least this, anyway.

.

My debut as a 'Soccer Mom' was NOT pretty. Last year I had to throw myself out of the game a couple of games. I would get that up on the sidelines. I wasn't cheering or screaming on the sidelines, I was screeching! Don't misunderstand. I'm not one of those 'competitive moms'. It's not that I was upset because my son wasn't getting enough play time, or because we were losing, or because the refs weren't being fair. No. That wasn't it at all. It was just that Jake wouldn't listen...to anyone. He'd tackle his teammates, do crazy stunts, roll all over the field...the whole experience was a disciplinary nightmare! I was so relieved when the spring season was over and we made the switch to T-ball -- and so were all the other parents who had been exposed to me that season.

But this season has been a different story. Same coach, most of the same kids, but a longer attention span and a bigger playing field made all the difference. The kiddos can actually follow instructions now...in a 4/5 year old kind of way. They learned to play specific positions, they learned how to take more of a team approach to scoring goals. I don't remember exactly, but I think we only had one loss this season. Jake did a great job and is learning to be a better sport. I look forward to more sideline cheering when the weather cools down.

Oh yeah, and here's my 'end of season' confection:

.