In the first game of our 3v3 season in U8 soccer, our roster of four (consisting of one eight-year old and three six-year olds in a division against seven and eight year olds), we held our own. While it ended in a tie, it was hard-fought and everyone gave their best effort. T.Puzzle even managed to score his first ever legitimate goal. In his selective remembering, it is his second goal. He is under the impression that last fall he scored. The truth is, and we haven’t had the heart to explain it, he had kicked it in the direction of the goal and while he had turned away to run his victory lap, a teammate actually nudge it in the last couple feet. So, we all celebrated as he got his ‘second’ goal. Naturally, before it even crossed into the net, he raced down the field with his arms victoriously extended in World Cup-like enthusiasm. His joy was contagious.
The second game our World Cup dreams were quickly dashed as an opponent, who it’s very possible drove himself to the field because he seemed adult-sized compared to our team, drilled goal after goal into our net. The younger kids kept on going while Full Speed broke down. When you are a passionate competitor like Full Speed, losing is like taking a bullet. In this case, it was like taking bullet after bullet. Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch….
In the end, I didn’t mind that we lost and badly. It turned into a great opportunity for the boys to learn about life. Sometimes things don’t go your way. It doesn’t matter what the outcome is as long as you handle yourself with dignity. Yes, Full Speed was crushed but he survived. Our focus in the future is to teach him that win or lose, life goes on. However, it’s a lot more fun when you are the one scoring all the goals…just ask T.Puzzle!
Writes for all Mommies 