The Weinberg Three: Soccer

The recreational league soccer season started yesterday here in Columbia, with all 3,000+ children, and so Milo and Calder played their first soccer games. This was their first foray into organized sports and they both "played" well.

Calder's game was first. His age group, the Under 4s, has a half hour of practice and then a half hour game. Calder shyly dribbled and kicked the ball during practice. During the actual game time, however, Calder gained a new nickname in our household: the immovable object. Literally, he stood his ground and did not move, except to wander off the soccer field a couple of times. He had no contact with the soccer ball. At the end of the game when both teams were shaking hands and running through a tunnel formed by silly parents, I found Calder wandering around two soccer fields away. I guess this organized sports thing is tricky. It may take a while for him to understand the concept of a game and his participation.

Milo, on the other hand, did not seem daunted by the hordes of children and their parents. He was very excited about the prospect of a game, as demonstrated by his incessant dancing and jumping around the field. These antics, however, did not cease during the actual game. The coach had Milo play two out of the four quarters and probably half of the time he was out on the field, Milo was pirouetting and leaping all over the place. Heck, if there were butterflies out there he probably would've been chasing them too. That is not to say that Milo didn't get into the game. He did chase after the ball and even made contact with the ball. His level of engagement and interest, however, faded over time. Perhaps because his coach was only playing him half the time or perhaps because of the really cool (and giant) helicopter another kid was playing with on the sidelines. Anyhoo.