Soccer Dad

This year, as every year, it was a great joy to watch the Twelve-Year-Old and the Nine-Year-Old play soccer.

The Twelve-Year-Old is short for his age, thin for his age, fast for his age, and--on the soccer field at least--completely impervious to pain.

In the first quarter we watch bigger, taller players sprint to get to the ball before he does. We can see them thinking, "He's going to slow down, he won't dare risk a full-speed collision." But he does. Both go for the ball, which comes out at some unpredictable direction. There is a crunch. Both wind up on the ground. Then he gets up and does it again.

By the third quarter, it's the bigger, taller guys who are slowing down as he and they approach the ball. The Twelve-Year-Old speeds up, and is the clear winner of four of five loose balls in his area.

In the second half, it gets to the point where opposing forwards panic and get rid of the ball if he even feints toward them. And the opposing coaches begin screaming at their wings: "Phillip! Phillip! You can't wait for the pass! He's as quick as you are! If you wait for it he'll intercept it every time and kick it up to midfield!" "Aaron! Aaron! You've got to stay on the wing! You've got to keep that fullback from being able to mix it up in the center!"

Alas, the team didn't jell, and if they fell behind they stopped running, so their season record was 1-5-2.

The Nine-Year-Old is about average height for her age, strong, and very well-coordinated. She has good ball-handling skills. She has good coordination

Most important, she doesn't know how to quit: she does not slow down when she gets tired.

By the fourth quarter of her games, we watch her dribble through the whole opposing defense (her and her teammate Rachel) as it looks like the exhausted defenders are moving in slow motion. "You can't dribble through the whole opposing team!" shouts Rachel's father. But in the fourth quarter they can. And they do. The team outscored its opponents 9-2 in the fourth quarter, on its way to a 6-3-1 record.

In their final game she scored the tying goal--a ball bouncing off her knee--halfway through the fourth quarter. She scored the winning goal--perfectly placed--with one minute left.

"It's like we have another coach out there," said one of her coaches. "Remember, play your position!" she shouts. "If you play your position, the ball will come to you! Don't bunch up!"

She organized the bringing of a post-practice snack after every practice. And she played a leading role in turning the Wednesday practices into giant goof-off sessions....