Coach Mommy

A new page of this adventure in parenting has begun. SPORTS. I have always sworn I would never coach little kids. I always said I would focus on my own kids and help develop them into athletes ... God willing. Well, somehow or another I got suckered into coaching 5 and under soccer for our local rec league. It is the team of twins - 3 sets. So far so good. SCORE - 5 practices, no injuries, very few tears, only one crazy parent. Games begin next week.
Once word got out that I was coaching soccer I somehow got suckered into coaching 5 year old softball. Coach pitch ... no tee. CRAZY! It starts the week soccer ends. After the draft of course. Yes, they have a draft. I've been told to pick the kids based on their parents .... if the parents look crazy ... don't pick their kid no matter how skilled they are. I'm following this advice. Parents scare me. Chances are good that I'm going to discipline their kid or hurt their feelings at some point in the season. But I strongly feel that I can teach them some basic fundamentals if the crazy parents stay out of my way.
It will be interesting to see how my girls athletic careers turn out. HC wants to play anything and everything. She is fast, furious and darn good at everything she does. The problem is that she doesn't listen and is hard to coach. Quinnie on the other hand is slow, meticulous and natural ability doesn't come as easy to her. But she is the most coachable kid I know. It will be an interesting journey for sure!
Quinn decided she did not want to play softball because she doesn't hit the ball well. I worked on her for over a month trying to encourage her and tell her how much fun it would be. Her Dad attempted to persuade her. This child has her fathers bull-headed stubbornness and she was adamant that she didn't want to play. On the day I was signing up to coach and signing up Hassie Clare for softball, Quinn overheard me talking to the team mom about snacks after the games and practices. Quinn chimed in, "Ohh ... there will be snacks after practices and games? I'll play."  Hey ... whatever it takes ... right????
One of the little boys on our soccer team calls me Coach Mommy. I could butter him up and eat him he is so dang sweet.  My girls say I'm nicer to the boys on the team and harder on the girls. The fact is that the girls on our team are capable of listening and running drills. They need to be strong and tough and they will probably carry our team. The boys are still sweet little love muffins that just need a little TLC. Plus ... they call me Coach Mommy. Okay ... maybe .. just maybe I suffer slightly from gender discrimination on the field!