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It's official. We have become sports parents. The kids have been involved in toddler gymnastics and "Anchovy" swim lessons, but we have entered the world of team sports. Most kids are probably influenced by their parents love of various games. Our kiddo was motivated by a spider, a Redbacked Spider to be precise. The Australian "Black Widow" equivalent, which dons a red stripe on its black back, is the mascot for the local soccer club. After finding this out, Tadd's interest in joining the team was sealed.
I think Australian soccer is run like European soccer, where hundreds of people (kids to adults) join a club and play under the same mascot. Since we have a club in our town, people come from surrounding suburbs to play as a Redback, distinguished by the red and black uniforms. Teams are then organized depending on age, and at least for under seven kids, the teams are distinguished by a color. Tadd was on the "Orange Team."
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| Half of the "Orange" Team with Coach Danny |
Every Saturday for ~4 months, we'd go to the soccer fields where 100+ kids under the age of 7 where playing. It was a sea of black and red, and we would have to find our team's playing area (or "pitch"), which was identified by an orange marker. The first half hour was practice, where the kids learned a lot about ball control. J and I were always impressed with all the coaches, teams, and drills. With all the kids, it was run so smoothly.
The second half hour was a game. Typically the "teams" split in two and played a game. In other words, the 10 kids on Tadd's Team Orange would split into two teams of 5 and then play each other. Occasionally, these smaller teams of five would play a different color team (i.e. Blue Team, Red Team) or a team from a different club. Most of the kids were so ridiculously good. Australia is known as a sports culture, but I think some of these kids were practicing ball control before they were learning how to crawl. At five and six years old, they had such an understanding of the game and how to manipulate the ball with their feet. For our little guy, this was his introduction to soccer......
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| Our Redback |
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| Team Orange |
For the games portion, Tadd spent the first few Saturdays running parallel with his team and the ball, trying to understand the game. Then one Saturday, the skies suddenly opened up, and he and his team got drenched on the field. The following week, the ball was kicked in this face. The week after that his team played an older group of kids that demolished them. None of this was good for building confidence in this new interest. As a result, the next few weeks he spent running away from his team and the ball and either watching birds or doing kangaroo hops and windmill spins during the games. We very much considered pulling him from soccer, but then reconsidered and tried to use this as a learning experience.
New tactic: (1) You don't have to play in the rain. (2) Dad and I need to play soccer with you. (3) If you play against older kids or better kids, don't see it as unfair. See it as an learning opportunity. (4) Let's finish out the season, and if you don't like it, you don't have to play next year.
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| Family soccer time |
It was amazing. By the end of the season, our redback was "getting in there"- running after the ball, kicking it, even once stealing it from a really good team player.... He had made the most amazing transition.
For the very last game of the year, the kids played the parents. I unfortunately got a head cold and didn't play, but J did. It was such a fun game to watch. Dads tumbling; kids playing their hearts out.
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| Coach Shaun, J, and Team Orange |
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| Cedar trying to take J down |
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| Elle determined to be a "Spidering" next year |
By the end of the day, the kids claimed the victory.....
....and, in Australian style, we all headed off to the BBQ and award ceremony.
(Every week, after the games, the BBQ was turned on. Every team got a chance to oversee the BBQ cooking. When it was Team Orange's turn to que-up, J took the helm.)
The award ceremony:
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| Cohen and Tadd |
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| Team Orange |
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| I spy Tadd |
Tadd is already ready to sign up next year.
As for the trophy....
...Elle has ideas for him.
