Avery's Big Kick Off

To know Kevin is to love him, and that means accepting the fact that he is fiercely competitive. Frankly, he's not much fun to play board games with because he's such a sore loser and God forbid North Carolina loses a basketball game in the final four, you might as well just write off the month of March! So, I had to respect his decision not to volunteer to coach Avery's pee wee soccer team. Given our recent frustration over Avery not wanting to participate in swimming lessons, he decided that we didn't need a conflict over his sport, soccer. And then we received the handbook from the Y about the league and it was entirely focused on teaching sportsmanship and having fun suggesting things like, "Cheer for the other team when they score a goal (against you)," the decision was definitely validated. Never the less, Kevin took Avery out to get new shin guards and soccer shorts and a green (my favorite) soccer ball. They spent the last 2 weeks in the back yard doing soccer drills, learning how to kick and dribble.

So the first week of soccer came and went, we weren't allowed to play since the Y had sprayed pesticides on the fields the night before our first 'game.' (I use the term game very loosely here). The second week our coach was out of town and they asked us to fill in. Kevin reluctantly agreed and spent the week crafting a lesson plan for the kids. Saturday morning arrived and we headed for the Y. When we arrived it was complete chaos on the field. We couldn't seem to find the kids on our team and once we did we couldn't seem to keep them together. Avery was running up and rolling down a steep hill with one of the other boys on our team and two of the kids wouldn't even come onto the field, they just sat on sideline crying. We had only one little girl participating last week and I'm pretty sure that she didn't even weigh as much as baby Jake. And then the other team showed up. Their coach was a big burley red head with a yellow shirt that matched his team. Like a marine drill sargent he had his kids doing jumping jacks in a circle in no time flat and then running drills up and down the field. When it came time to start the game he had them doing pride cheers reminiscent of Roger from the Biggest Loser. I could just tell we were doomed.

We had the first kick off and Kevin managed to snag Avery's attention long enough to psyche him up for the big kick off. The whistle blew and Avery took off down the field dribbling the ball just as they had practiced. Kevin was so proud. He even recounted the moment to me later on that day. But then some little boy from the other team came by and stole the ball from Avery. He fell to the ground with big crocodile tears streaming down his face crying, "That's my ball!" And that is where the game ended for Avery. He had no interest in playing anymore. We sat on the side and watched the other kids running up and down the field while he had his juice box and snack. They added a few more balls to the game, just for fun I guess, but Avery still would not budge.

Kevin stayed with the other kids for the full 15 minutes of play, mostly just trying to encourage them to participate. We did have one little boy who ran himself ragged and scored several 'goals' almost entirely on his own. Remembering the lessons from the YMCA hand book, he encouraged our kids to give the other team a high five after the game was over. But the other kids were too busy busting into the case of gatorade and fruit snacks that the Roger, the big yellow drill sargent coach, brought for his team. They didn't even turn around to acknowledge our team, much less offer to share. So much for good sportsmanship.

So, I guess we'll try again next week.