- Joined
- Sep 13, 2004
- Messages
- 55,447
- Reaction score
- 26,442
Well, I'm on my 2nd tour of fun & fright with youth soccer. Started out as a Soccer Dad ... did what many dad's & mom's do and signed up to coach in fall recreation soccer. Never played soccer, when i was young only the rich kids played soccer at the private elite schools in Rhode Island.
Well....then I coached competitive soccer, got on the soccer board in the town. As my son got older I realized how much soccer sucked in our town when we had 2 or 3 kids showing up for practice of the competitive soccer team.
So it was on to the Massachusetts Maple League...Fuller Hamlets...oh so enjoyable...real soccer...loved it. It was english soccer which I'm not to fond of but it was real soccer and every game was like a Tailgate At The Razor. Maple Games were on Sundays and we went as a family...always ate somewhere nice as a family and of course we tailgated with our extended soccer family.
We went to tournaments in Mass, NH, Vt, Maine, NY, NJ, Virginia, and Maryland ... the family together always at the forefront of every soccer game and every extended soccer trip.
Had alot...alot of fun. The winning was nice but it was always secondary to the fun and being together as a family. I also got involved in the Rhode Island ODP soccer and was the Head Coaches Assistant for 4 years...again we always made it a family thing. ODP on Wednesdays followed by supper somewhere.
The moral of the story ... anyone involved in soccer or whatever ... make it a family event and the winning and losing just don't seem to matter anymore...the memories of most of the "trips" bring smiles to our faces.
Well....then I coached competitive soccer, got on the soccer board in the town. As my son got older I realized how much soccer sucked in our town when we had 2 or 3 kids showing up for practice of the competitive soccer team.
So it was on to the Massachusetts Maple League...Fuller Hamlets...oh so enjoyable...real soccer...loved it. It was english soccer which I'm not to fond of but it was real soccer and every game was like a Tailgate At The Razor. Maple Games were on Sundays and we went as a family...always ate somewhere nice as a family and of course we tailgated with our extended soccer family.
We went to tournaments in Mass, NH, Vt, Maine, NY, NJ, Virginia, and Maryland ... the family together always at the forefront of every soccer game and every extended soccer trip.
Had alot...alot of fun. The winning was nice but it was always secondary to the fun and being together as a family. I also got involved in the Rhode Island ODP soccer and was the Head Coaches Assistant for 4 years...again we always made it a family thing. ODP on Wednesdays followed by supper somewhere.
The moral of the story ... anyone involved in soccer or whatever ... make it a family event and the winning and losing just don't seem to matter anymore...the memories of most of the "trips" bring smiles to our faces.