Coaching

My whole life I have played soccer. I remember when I was six suiting up to play. Starting in middle school my life really became all about soccer as I started to play club. For me soccer was my life. Even today there is an excitement that I get when I get to play. I admit, every time I walk by a game being played my head turns to watch, if even for a moment. Soccer was and is very serious. Not to say I don't have fun, but I like to play to win. Ask the Cal Copy girls, there were times where my competitiveness was a little overkill. Moving to China has killed me because finding a soccer team has not happened and I miss it. I miss being on a team and I miss the running and the diving and just about everything. So, when I was asked to coach the high school team I jumped on the opportunity.

I was excited to be able to coach and develop a team. I was excited to see my team win. I was excited to push the girls as hard as my coaches pushed me. Well, until reality set in. To begin, out of 13 girls only 3, maybe 4, have ever played. And even the girls who have played have only played for maybe a year or two. Then there are the girls was are mainly playing for a P.E. credit. It was hard for me to accept that the girls really are only out here for fun. That they don't have the desire to push themselves hard. I had to laugh when I told the girls they needed to buy cleats and one girls asked what cleats were. Oh well. We lost our first game 0-8 and our second game 1-7 or 8 (we lost count). However, I am learning that winning is not everything. When the girls scored the one goal they went crazy, like they won the game. After the game they didn't focus on their loss, but their one goal. We laughed joked around, and it was fun.

I realize that this season will be different than any I played in high school, but that it might not be a bad thing. While I wanted to be pushed when I played, these girls aren't out there to conquer the world, and I have to remember that. So it is back to the basics of soccer for me. I have to remember when I was 6 and just started to learn to play and that it was not about the winning but about having fun. And I have to learn to not be shocked when I get asked questions about how to do kick offs and corner kicks and about cleats and why their muscles are sore and I have to remember that there are firsts for everyone, and for most of these girls this is their first time playing soccer.