end of an era

Parent Cafe
1

<p>So sad
Last night was the last game of my daughters soccer season. ( rec league- they go to schools all over the city & they have been very supportive of my D through her changes in schools, and her blossoming from someone who shied away from the ball, to a solid player.)</p>

<p>They lost in the tournament to a team they really shouldn’t have lost to.
Tough break, their first tournament game was to last years champion * in the snow<a href=“&%20the%20year%20before”>/i</a>- so that wasn’t an unexpected loss, but for these girls to lose last night was hard, especially since some of them have been playing together on the same team for 10 years.( my daughter for 7 years)</p>

<p>But they are very inspirational- some of them were even doing cartwheels on the pitch, because they are determined to have a good time no matter what.
Very cute.
A good run for a great bunch of kids.
But I frankly wanted to smack a few of the parents. ( Ok one)</p>

<p>They are a great team & they have usually been ranked # 3 in the city at the end of every year- pretty good considering they are often( always?) too busy to practice. Obviously girls that play for the love of the game and not because they are hoping for college scholarships or because they are pushed by their parents.</p>

<p>But I really couldn’t stand listening to the parent talking about how sad it is to go out on a loss this way after playing together for 10 years. No wonder his daughter didn’t want to ride home with him.</p>

<p>Parents can be pretty selfish. We want what is best for our kids- but we also have our own idea about what that means.
In the big picture, losing soccer two games post season isn’t really a big deal.
The big deal is who these young women are and who they will become & what they have learned from each other ( and their coaches) over the years.</p>

<p>IMO, that is something to be proud of.</p>

<p>Now I just have to plan a big blowout :D</p>

<p>I just realized my daughter has worn the same pair of shin guards since she started playing soccer. ( long story- actualy short story- she never found any others she liked)- think I should have them bronzed?</p>

2

<p>I’m pretty sure those shin guards are legally classified as toxic waste by now…</p>

<p>Congratulations to your daughter, especially if she managed to get to this point still loving her sport and not limping with blown ACLs…</p>

<p>Oh, yeah, and some parents are jerks. I could tell you stories about a psychotic Little League coach mistreating 8-year-old baseball players. (Not physically, just being a giant jerk.)</p>

3

<p>I had to convince my son’s quiz bowl coach that we needed to celebrate the end of every season, win or lose. During my son’s senior year party (we won!!) I made sure I passed the party baton to some of the remaining parents. We also last year initiated making the end-of-year party an alumni event and quite a few past players and their families came to celebrate with us. It was so much fun to see them all.</p>

<p>I think bronzing the shin guards is a great idea.</p>

4

<p>well I do actually wash her shin guards occasionally.
I don’t think this parent is necessarily a jerk- but he was upset for several reasons ( one was that his son- who has never missed a game & has special needs not to mention their biggest fan- had to stay home because he was ill- I am sure no one ever thought that this would be their last game) and he just wasnt aware of how he sounded</p>

<p>I think an alumni event is a great idea cause there are also girls that have had to drop over the years- but still stay in touch.</p>

5

<p>Last high school soccer game was tough, much harder than the last club game. We had gotten very close to the other high school soccer parents and would see them all over town.</p>

<p>We still go to the rivalry game each year, although the roster of parents that we know is just about gone.</p>