Soccer Girl

I recently read the book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, the true story of a woman who raised her daughters in a strict Chinese manner while living in America. The book received fairly bad press when it was released but after reading it one day last month, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. There's plenty I disagree with about the author's approach to parenting but more than anything, I found it enlightening to read while living in Asia. One premise the author makes is that for Chinese parents, they believe they know what is best for their children and they are not afraid to make decisions for them.

I joked with my friends that after reading the book, I went "Tiger Mom" and signed up Emily for soccer without asking her first. Never mind that the actual Tiger Mother wouldn't have allowed her daughter to play team sports...

After 9 years of parenthood, I guess I was ready for my child to play a team sport. I remember asking Megan when she was in Kindergarten if she would like to play soccer and she asked one question, "Do I have to play with boys?" Megan is still doing gymnastics to this day.

Elizabeth doesn't like to walk quickly so signing her up for athletic endeavors didn't seem like a good idea.

And then there's Emily. She's fast, a little scrappy and she actually likes boys! So when SAS offered Saturday morning soccer for the Pre-K kids, I couldn't resist. She seemed excited about it but I began to worry when we went to look for soccer cleats, shin guards and socks for her. Emily had specific requirements for the colors of her shoes and I had no idea what I would find here for a 4-year old girl. 

We went to a particular mall that was recommended for kids' sporting goods and thankfully we quickly found a suitable pair of Adidas soccer cleats that had purple and green stripes. Emily loved them. The shin guards and socks were more elusive to find. We walked from store to store inquiring about these two items and each time, the employee would point to Emily and ask, "you need them for her?" And then they would give a hearty laugh and shake their heads. I didn't see what was so funny about my request. Is she the only 4-year old that has ever played soccer? You would have thought so in that irritating little mall. I eventually found a suitable pair of shin guards and my friend Ivy gave me a pair of her daughter's old socks. We were ready.

Emily's team, the Green Lasers, plays for one hour on Saturday mornings up at school. It's a co-ed team of 8 children, and there's one other girl besides Emily on the team. They practice for 30 minutes and then play a game against one of the other three Pre-K teams for 30 minutes. When I mentioned Emily was starting soccer to another mother with older children, she responded, "4-year old soccer is a nightmare." After two weeks of watching them, I wholeheartedly disagree!

I found these little players to be absolutely adorable. They try hard and I especially enjoy watching them all chase after the ball, no matter how far out of bounds it goes. They're considerate of each other, they get excited about a goal (even if they score in their own goal) but more than anything, they are just having fun learning and playing the game.

#4 with some of her teammates

The first Saturday Emily received her own ball and her jersey. The coach encouraged the team to decorate their soccer balls so they could easily identify them each week during practice. Emily immediately wanted to color on her ball when we got home and didn't take off her jersey the entire day. I took that as a positive sign.

Emily was excited to play again last Saturday and while she's the smallest player on the team, she was eager to participate and always chased after the ball. And Megan enjoyed watching her baby sister on the field. 

The Green Lasers are 2-0 and will be back in action after Winter Break. I will not make a habit of committing my children to activities without consulting them first because I'm definitely not a Tiger Mom. But I'm enjoying finally being a soccer mom!