The Soccer Strike

This year I officially became a soccer mom.  I signed my two boys, ages 5 and 3, up for Y soccer.  For my 3 year old, Holden, this is a first attempt at a team sport.

Holden had several months of swimming lessons this Summer and actually sat still, listened to his instructor and generally cooperated.  So we decided to raise the stakes a bit and try soccer.  The Y program is geared towards 3 to 5 year olds and it's only once a week.  Every Saturday they have a 30 minute practice and then a 30 minute "game."  The kids rotate in and out every 7 minutes or so.  We thought this would be a good way to ease Holden into a sport.

Wrong.

The first Saturday wasn't bad.  Holden only wandered off of the field about 10 times.  He generally paid attention, although he found it necessary to play in the goal net every time he got near it.  He also picked up the ball whenever it ended up in a scrum of 3 and 4 year olds.  He thought it was much more efficient to just pick it up than to try to kick it.  Holden was, at least, a great source of amusement for all of the parents at the soccer field!

Holden's second soccer practice was last weekend.  He refused to play. He sat on the sidelines for the entire practice and game.  Now, Holden tells me he doesn't want to play soccer and I have no idea what to do.  The last thing I want is a battle of wills with a 3 year old.  But I also don't want to give in and establish precedent with a very stubborn little boy.

Holden has always been a mystery to me.  He's the sole extrovert in our family of introverts.  He's almost always sunny and cheerful, in stark contrast to his brother, who inherited my "moods."  He's a bit unconventional too.  When we were contemplating a new puppy, Holden insisted he wanted a sheep.  Holden is so different from me, and the rest of our family, that I'm never quite sure if I'm handling him the best way possible.

If Hollis, my 5 year old, tells me he doesn't want to try something new, I know that he probably does want to try, but is a bit afraid of failing or not making friends.  I know that Hollis needs a push to get started.  He's a lot like me.  But with Holden, I have no idea if "I don't want to play soccer" really means he doesn't want to play soccer or if, like his brother, he'd really like to play but is a little hesitant to try something new.

So for now, I guess I'll keep carting Holden to soccer practice and hope that sitting on the sidelines eventually gets boring.  Who knows? Maybe Holden will figure out that soccer practice isn't just kicking a ball around.  It's also a great place for my little extrovert to make new friends.

This is an original D.C. Metro Moms blog post.  When Stephanie Himel-Nelson isn't masquerading as a soccer mom, she blogs at Lawyer Mama and Blue Star Voices, the blog of Blue Star Families.