Micah (8 years old), Caleb (6 years old) and Noah (4 years old) are all on different YMCA soccer teams right now, so our Saturday mornings are currently full of games, sweat, and trying to entertain Zachary (22 month old).  What’s been blowing my mind is some of the other parents who take little kid soccer waaaaaaay too seriously.  I mean, you’d think they thought their kid’s entire future rested on this one game, or that maybe it was an olympic trial or something.

Last week, Noah’s team played against another team with one such set of parents.  Remember, these are four year olds playing.  The one little girl didn’t want to play so she was crying and then sobbing … and her parents made her stay out on the field the whole game.  They were both screaming at her, ‘STOP CRYING AND KICK THE BALL! PLAY SOCCER! DON’T YOU DARE COME OFF THAT FIELD! I SAID STOP CRYING!’  The whole game. Wow.

Then today, during Caleb’s game, Heather told me a parent had her kiddo play sick.  Puking sick. Poor kid came off the field twice to throw up, had snot going everywhere, and the mom kept making him play.  And then high five everyone.  And then she ran drills with him afterwards.  This was the six year old’s team.

I just don’t get it.

On the other hand, Caleb complained to Heather that I tell him what to do too much so he prefers when she comes and watches.  What?!?  All I did was tell him where to go, how to kick the ball, and to quit standing inside the goal when he’s goalie (he needed to be in front of it)!!!