Got a Soccer Player in the Family?

When I grew up, it was fuzz ball and street hockey in the alley behind Bobby Parres' and Tom Toczylowski's house. Home when the streetlights came on.

Nowadays, it's paid coaches and specialization. Supervision is multi-layered and intrusive.

Thank goodness a blog has found the humor in it all. "FullRideSoon" chronicles the world of a soccer mom supporting her little athletes on their quest for the glory. If only my parents were more like her, I may have become a successful athlete (at some sport that does not require speed or coordination).

Remembering Brookside Soccer

On the way home the other day, I saw a group of tiny soccer players swarming around a field, hip-high to a guy trying to restrict the motion to a space defined by plastic orange cones. It brought a surge of nostalgia - for years, I was a coach of kids in Brookside soccer.

The team played together for 4 or 5 years, and I had a tremendous amount of fun in my role as coach. Part of the reason for the pleasant experience was the attitude of my group of parents. The only time a parent questioned my substitutions was once when one asked whether her son had spent his fair share of time on the bench; I wasn't subjected to the hyper-competitive parents who advocate for their child's maximum time at preferred positions.

But the greatest part was the kids. They were a motley crowd of widely varying abilities. A few of them belonged on premier teams, a few of them showed no evidence of athletic ability whatsoever, but most of them were average kids, full of energy, short of attention, and always excitable. I shouted through the games, but only advice and positive comments. As a result, the less talented players always felt welcome on our recreational team, and everyone got equal playing time, so, as the years in the league progressed, our team slipped further and further from a winning record, as other teams winnowed their ranks of weaker players by making them feel less welcome.

By the end of our time together, wins came rarely, but the team always had fun, and we had our sparks of talent. Justin had a booming foot and a great, can-do attitude. Steven was hilarious, a smart-mouthed kid who kept me in stitches. Arnaud was a great kid, with all-star talent. Lee, Bobby, Paul, Andrew, Ben, and dozens of others cycled through the team, and all brought enthusiasm and developing skills.

They are now in their early twenties. I've lost touch with most of them, though I see a few of their parents around once in a while, and ask how they're doing.

Seeing the coach out in the field with the group of little, shin-guarded tykes, it crossed my mind to volunteer again, and take on a new group of kids. But then I remembered that I'm not as quick on my feet anymore, and my schedule would make practice time hard to calendar. I also reminded myself of those cold, not-quite-rainy-enough Saturday mornings when I wished I could just sleep in.

If you're of an age and station where you have the time and ability to coach a group of little ones, I recommend the experience with sincere warmth. Go here to get involved.

My team never won a bunch of games, but we had a lot of fun, learned a few skills, and outclassed everyone we played with our sportsmanship. Except for that time that Steven spit in his hand before the traditional post-game hand-slaps with the opposing team . . .

Are Soccer Fans the Most Obnoxious People on Earth?

What the hell is it with those people?

The World Cup games in South Africa sound like they are being played inside a hornets' nest, with a constant drone of horns continuing throughout the entire game. The horns are vuvelezas - cheap plastic trumpets that any clear-thinking person would blow only during moments of celebration, if at all. But, unfortunately, the South African crowds deem it clever to blow the things as a constant noise, no matter what is going on down on the field.

But my scorn isn't reserved solely for the vuvulezas and the South Africans. Closer to home, what is the deal with people throwing junk on the field? After every goal, knuckleheads in the crowd will throw rolls of toilet paper onto the field. You'll have a dozen or more long streamers of toilet paper polluting the field, even at a Wizards game. And they don't stop play to have the crew clean it up, or for security to throw the throwers out of the stadium.

What the heck? You don't throw stuff onto a field of play! If you do, you get kicked out of the place. (Ice hockey's an exception - hat tosses happen everywhere, Detroit sees its share of octopi, and don't ask about Sweden.) There's no reason to TP the stadium just because your team scores a goal - it's visually distracting for the rest of the game.

I hope this blog post will help football (soccer) fans worldwide do a better job of living up to my expectations.

Off to See the Wizards

As recapped over at Kansas City Bloggers, a group of us headed over to the windy prairie west of civilization to watch the Wizards play Toronto FC on Saturday evening. Truly, 5 people wedged into a hybrid vehicle plastered with liberal bumper stickers may have been the most left-wing event in suburban Kansas so far this century.

Since others have already discussed the social aspect, I'll tackle the sporting aspect. Believe it or not, the Star's coverage actually had it right! The game was dominated by Toronto in the early going, but the Wizards controlled the second half. One of the goals came off what appeared to be a sloppy rebound, though it's hard to judge whether the goalie really had a chance to smother the ball since I was at the far end of the field.

The outing was my first visit to Community America Park, and I intend to go back. The family atmosphere was nice, the game was good, and the parking was free. The level of talent on the field was better than some of the games I see on the Fox Soccer channel, and 5 goals made for an exciting game.

Kansas City Sports Team in the Running

With the Chiefs crumbling and the Royals at home watching their superiors enjoy the playoffs, it sometimes slips the mind that Kansas City does have one of the best soccer teams in the United States. The Wizards are playing the San Jose Earthquake on Saturday evening at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, starting at 7, in a game with HUGE (but confusing) playoff implications.

To sweeten the deal, it's also fan appreciation night. That means fireworks, baby!

You have to appreciate a team which has its own blog, especially when the blog is so earnest and straightforward that it eschews "Touch My Monkey" humor while posting this picture. Such high levels of dignity are refreshing here on the internet.