Soccer Begins...

Jacob started soccer last week. We weren't sure how he'd feel about this. Jacob's a perfectionist. Jacob doesn't like to mess up. Ever. He doesn't care if it's his first time trying something. He gets embarrassed easily if he isn't perfect. And he wouldn't let Greg teach him much because whenever he realized he didn't know something, he'd say he didn't want to play anymore. So this was basically his first time playing. And my first time being a soccer mom.

I took off early from work so I could make it on time to the first practice. I picked up some fast food for dinner and met Greg and the kids at the school. I've been receiving all of the correspondence about the soccer schedule and practice times, so I told Greg where it was. To anyone who knows me, this should have set off some warning bells.

So, we arrived at 5. The practice started at 6. We ate dinner and the kids kicked the soccer balls around. There was a soccer field near the school entrance (where we were) and there were several in the back. We didn't know which one we'd be using. I called the coach, and he said we'd just figure it out when he got there. It didn't rmake sense to me, considering the size of the school grounds. At 6:05, we still didn't see any kids practicing, only middle and high school kids. I called the coach again. I had the wrong school. In my defense, they had similar names. So what if it wasn't in the right township?

Jacob rode home with me.

Me: So, did you have a good time?

Jake: Yeah, but I messed up.

Me: That's okay. You're just learning. Everyone messes up. It's not a big deal. What'd you do?

Jake: I don't want to talk about it. (He looked very downcast.)

Me: Well, everyone makes mistakes, especially when they're learning. You can't know everything. You make mistakes and then you learn. Daddy made mistakes when he was learning to play soccer. He made mistakes after he learned how to play, too. Everyone does sometimes.

Jake: Well, I just didn't know only the goalie can touch the ball with his hands.

He finally agreed it was a good thing he learned that during practice instead of during a game.

Here are some photos from before the practice: