Soccer Girl

As a parent you know what you should be doing but it's soooo difficult sometimes to actually practice what you preach. So when Juliette told us Saturday morning that she didn't want to go to Soccer (her 1st ever session). We told her, what we thought good parents would, that she should try it out and if she didn't like it then she could do something else. What I was really thinking was please, please don't just sit on the side and watch the other kids play (like ballet). So when the practice started I was prepared for the worse. What I got was a very happy and talented 4 year old playing soccer who even scored a goal. Sure there were a few kids crying with their parents holding their hands, but for once, my child wasn't one of them! During the practice I was afflicted by a strange sort of tunnel vision. All I could see was Juliette running around after the ball with a huge smile on her face while the other (14) kids slowly went out of focus and blended into the background. When she scored a goal I had to control myself from jumping for joy. Am I going to be the type of dad who yells encouraging things from the sideline? Probably. Am I going to be the type of dad who pushes my child to compete regardless of what they want? I hope not. Am I going to be the type of dad who gets into a physical fight with other parents or the referee? I think I'll personally ban myself from the games before that happens. I don't need her to be the next Mia Hamm (click on the title of this Blog if you don't know who she is), even though deep down I'll be hopping she is, all I want is for Juliette to get the same satisfaction from a sport or hobby that I get every time I step on the Ultimate field.