Soccer and Rainbows

Little Fox had soccer last night. He had a great time, and is smiling in 99% of the 113 photos I took. He was MUCH more coordinated than when he played the last time.

He had some trouble focusing on the task at hand... there was a dog at the other end of the field that caught his attention. And he has a few things to learn about following direction and getting in line, but these are things he'll get better at, I know... especially when he starts school. There were a lot of kids on his "team" that have already finished a year at school and I can really see the difference between those kids and Little Fox.

I could feel my inner soccer-mom coming out... I'm going to be that mom-coach on the sidelines that all coaches hate. There were a few times that Little Fox was the only kid without a ball, and a few times that he was obviously lost and confused. The coach was about high-school aged, and while he obviously knew soccer, he was having trouble with the coaching part. He spoke very softly, and seemed hesitant. Which I understand... been there, done that! It's very hard, when you have like 25 kids and don't know anyone's name... and when you have mom's like me watching. *sigh*

Here's a note to coaches and gym teaches out there. Don't ASK the kids if they know how to play. The ones who do will all chorus "yes" and the kids who don't won't say anything. You won't hear any no's. Don't assume kids know the rules or skills they need. Assume they DON'T. Always explain the game and rules. I remember being in gym class and playing floor hockey... whenever the whistle blew, I was like, what??? what's going on? I had no idea what was allowed or not allowed, I was just given a stick that I didn't know how to hold correctly, and told to play. I could see that in Little Fox last night. They split into teams and started actually playing a soccer game, but Little Fox thought it was tag. He had no idea that he was supposed to be chasing the BALL and trying to kick it between THOSE cones.

But, the main idea is for exercise and fun. And that it was! He ran non-stop and smiled and laughed through it all. It was the first thing he talked about this morning. Some of the kids there will probably be in his class at school, too, and he was trying to chat up everyone.

It started to rain JUST as we were walking back to the truck. It was that awesome kind of weather when the sun is still peeking through and below the clouds so all the colours are still bright, but it's raining. I love that! We saw 3 or 4 rainbows on the way home!