Aubree didn't want to play soccer. She didn't want to play any team sport. I feel it is important for her to at least try a few different team sports. So, I signed her up for spring soccer, which has a short 6-week season. I also made sure I recruited a friend to play as well.
I took both girls to their first practice. As they were walking in, Aubree's friend said, "My mom signed me up without even asking. I didn't even want to play!"
Aubree's eyes got big, "Yeah! My mom too!"
They continued to grumble all the way to the practice field. I tried to hush my inner grumbler.
After practice, I asked what they thought, hoping they'd experienced a change of heart. They responded, "It was boring!" "Yeah, this is dumb."
Grrrrrr!
Aubree was the only girl on the team who'd never played soccer previously, and in the beginning that was pretty obvious. The morning of the first game was c-c-cold! Aubree preferred to stay huddled in a blanket on my lap than be put into the game. However, once she got a little taste of being in a game, her attitude improved tremendously. "Practices are boring, but games are kind of fun," she conceded.
Her attitude and skill level improved consistently throughout the season. After the second game, which her team won, Aubree came home chanting, "That was awesome!"
A few times our friend/neighbor came over and gave Aubree personal soccer training sessions, which we found helped tremendously in her playing ability.
This morning was her last game, and though it was cold, she was eager to play and not afraid to jump right into the fray. She even admitted that she's glad she played soccer and had fun.
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