The Wide World of Sports Will Be Wanting an Interview

Grace and Sam are playing soccer this fall.

It's the first time either have been involved in any kind of organized sport. We're not really an organized family, so this should be interesting.

Grace had practice first, on Tuesday evening. We had missed the first one, as we were in Florida. Grace was very nervous. She tried to tuck her piggy tails behind her ears and she didn't talk. The fact that she is the only girl on her team might have something to do with her lack of chattiness. She desperately tried to get Coach Chris to notice her loose tooth, but he was too busy, you know, coaching.

She did just fine during drills. She ran, kicked, and dribbled. When the time came to scrimmage, however, she wanted nothing to do with it. She wouldn't even go out onto the field. Instead, she sat on my lap and cried when I told her she would eventually have to go out there. She was happy with the box she got that held her uniform, water bottle, and poster. She has practice again this Tuesday and her first game is Saturday. We'll just have to see what happens.

Sam's practice was Friday. He had been anxiously awaiting Friday all week long. We arrived before Coach Dave, and when Sam saw him he asked, "Is that my boy?" It only got better from there.

Coach Dave thought it would be a good idea for the team to actually see how the game was played, so he drafted some dads. They lined up across from a group of four years olds, guys Mike's size against guys Sam's size. It was so funny! The little ones were very excited and energetic. Sam actually got in the mess and kicked the ball a few times. The dads were very gracious and allowed the other team to score.

Drills were next, and oh my goodness. It was like herding cats. But they all had a good time. Sam found a little boy with whom he had much in common. Their coach recognized this and quickly separated them.

I think my all-time favorite part was when Sam got his box. He had been waiting all week to get a box like Grace's. Coach Dave got it from his car and walked toward Sam. Sam saw him and started running. "My box!" He grabbed it, hugged it, then exclaimed, "I wuv my box!!"

It should be a fun season.