Soccer Soccer Father’s Day
I don’t generally like to make a big deal out of holidays, especially if it’s under my control. I prefer something low key and Father’s Day has gotten tuned down to a normal day with the family most of the time. This year however, it was met with a soccer bonanza.
My 5 year old son C is playing in a new juniors league and they had a soccer showcase on (you guessed it) Father’s Day weekend. The only thing I was concerned about was having the whole family out for the majority of the day with my 7 year old daughter E most likely needing to be entertained and my 2 year old son L requiring his midday nap. It was going to be a juggling act that my wife was all for helping with the juggling.
We set out the first day not sure of what to expect. My wife usually overpacks to be extra safe and there were plenty of snacks, a cooler full of drinks, and a buffet of watermelon. There was also lots of books, Yoto cards, and art supplies along with a few toys. When we got settled on, C immediately took the field and I couldn’t believe how much taller the other boys were on the team he was playing against. They were all giants.
C’s team was manhandled for the most part and he looked very uncomfortable out there. It was the first time his coach had them in a formation and there were also 6 players on the field for each team (the most C has played was 4 on 4). The field was very crowded and there was a lot of pushing, so C didn’t do much the entire first game.
After the first game, my wife gave him a pep talk and told him that there is a reason the coach has him playing up in juniors. C just needed to be reminded and she also told me to reinforce that message. It was a great idea and I doubled down on that throughout the break. When the next sets of games started, C looked a bit more like himself and it also helped that none of the other teams looked like the first team of giants. He ended up scoring a tough goal in one of his games on the first day and I was super proud of him for toughing it out. He also got an assist as well on a run up the sideline when he got the ball and passed it to the center of the field. His teammate tapped it in and the goalie had no chance. It was amazing (as his Dad) to witness. At the end of the first day, C was exhausted.
When we got home, he asked me if he had to play the second day of the soccer weekend. I told him he should, but he didn’t have to. He then asked me if he played, did he have to play in all the games. Everything was optional, so I told him it was his choice. I tried to frame it as an opportunity to get better instead of an experience beating down on his ego and body (since it was rough out there for him). He said he would think about it some more before going to sleep that day and that he would probably play in half of the games.
The second day was also a long day. C started off much better and even scored a quick goal the first game on a breakaway. Seemed like he was gaining his confidence fully back and it gave him some extra energy to play fast. Then the heat turned up and the rest of the games started to wear on everyone. All of C’s teammates also didn’t show up on the second day. Towards the end of the day, the teammates that did slowly left one by one until there were no subs the last game. C was on the field for the entire game and although his team lost a close game, he played tough until the end.
I could tell C was proud of himself for scoring goals on both days and getting a great assist that looked like how it does on tv. He was glad that the weekend was over and we celebrated with some pizza at home (also because my wife wanted pizza and neither of us wanted to cook).
There were some crazy moments during the weekend as well, such as L not napping the second day at all and me getting completely lost with L trying to find the lunch spot. All in all though, it was an awesome Father’s Day weekend because we spent the entire weekend together as a family.
To top it off, I usually put L to sleep at night. I checked his diaper my trying to smell it and peek to see if there was anything that I needed to take care of before putting him to bed. At first pass, I didn’t smell or see anything that would resemble a deposit in his night diaper that we needed to get rid of. After zipping him up in his sleep sack, I had a feeling to actually check him fully by taking off his diaper. I got L out of his sleep sack and put him on his changing table. When I opened his diaper, there was actually a small deposit that he left me. It was a stealth poop that was small and basically odorless. I couldn’t believe it and thank goodness I checked. Safe to say I passed the fatherhood test the third time around and trusting my gut to check again.
When my kids are all grown up, I know these kinds of weekends are the weekends I will miss the most. I love being outside with everyone and watching my kids work at something. Helping to push them to not give up and to remember to have confidence in themselves is great when it actually comes to life so quickly as well. It was the perfect Father’s Day weekend for me and one I’ll remember for a long long time, especially because my Daddy Spider Sense came in clutch.
