You know how when you get to thinking....

So I haven't posted in a while....I've been busy....SORRY!!

More on that later...I finally got on here and caught up on some of the blogs that I usually follow and one of them got this response (here it is!)

I really enjoyed reading about this. I’m currently 24 and I am both mom AND coach to both my older sons and the rest of their buddies on the soccer team. I never intended to coach but the first team my oldest was on was run by a coach that signed up ONLY to coach HIS son. His son, unfortunately, had NO desire to even play soccer! So instead of teaching his son some long term concepts (teamwork, commitment, trying new things, etc.) the coach decided that he should just quit! I was shocked! Especially when my other son was on a different team in a different age group and his coach just volunteered because he loved coaching.

Then when the coach told all of us that he was quitting he asked for someone to take over and the rest of the parents that were there for that “meeting” (after practice random announcement) all had NO CLUE about soccer…like didn’t even know the rules!

Ok, so I played soccer in high school, haven’t touched a ball in YEARS but I want this to be a good experience because it’s their (my sons’) first time ever playing. So I volunteered. Subsequent seasons lead me to have my younger son play “up” (older age group) so I could coach them both for fairness purposes, and has lead me to really have to figure out some boundaries. I mean, when I’m coaching and one of my sons is hurt and wants “mommy” I have to be “coach” to 8 other boys. How do I balance that?

After my second season of coaching, other boys parents started requesting me as their sons coach. Then I found out I was pregnant with my 3rd son. So I had to tell the kids at their soccer banquet last fall that I couldn’t coach them anymore because all spring (first season of two this year) that I would be hugely pregnant and therefore unable to RUN!) and nobody looked like they even cared. :-(

Of course I had parents “watching me” but I also felt kind of judged in a negative way like I wasn’t doing a good job. Well, it turned out that the next season, one of the parents who was at that meeting still plays competitive soccer and he volunteered to coach! And he was willing to coach both my kids on the same team! (allowing my younger son to “play up” is at the discretion of the coach) so the kids I was coaching were still mostly together and the parents that I felt were judging me were now sitting on the sidelines with me and we watched. We did talk about things and I kind of realized some things I COULD do better as a coach!

Well, I wanted to coach this fall season but I was laid off, a full time student and juggling a 3 month old baby along with everything else. I signed the kids up and hoped for the best. Well, the same parent signed up to coach and agreed to take all the same kids. He asked for a “team mother” and I signed up for that job (armed with my new knowlegde of course!) and it was the best soccer season so far! I helped coach when he needed it, I gave him constructive feedback, I found the trophies for the team and planned the end of season party and EVERY single parent was very, very, VERY!!!! satisfied! I did good!

It was such a different feeling from the first season when I coached to now….I guess you just got me to thinking…sorry this was SO LONG! Sometimes my brain spirals off into…..other things…..just a bit…..

hmmmmm…

Good post!!

So that was it....just thoughts, just puttin' it out there I guess....