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Hard to believe, after 6 straight years, high school soccer is done!

Ah, the memories – there are a lot of memories! I wouldn’t trade anything for the memory of having both of them play together for two years! At her Senior Night, my youngest daughter recanted to the crowd that her happiest memory of high school soccer was being able to play with her older sister!

My oldest daughter, a field player, remembers being pressed into duty as goalkeeper twice in her sophomore season after OT’s had not decided the contest. Once, it was to get her team into the last playoff spot; the second time was to get her team to the “Round of Eight”. For both those games, her parents felt the angst that “regular” goalkeeper parents must feel all the time!

Both my daughters absolutely loved playing high school soccer. They loved playing for their school and they loved representing the community. Playing high school soccer helped remind my kids that, even though soccer is a passion for them, it’s a game that’s meant to be fun. Playing with kids who didn’t hold the beautiful game in the same regard as they do caused them to re-examine their approach to soccer. It was a healthy experience for my kids!

My daughters’ school is not a traditional “soccer powerhouse”. My daughters have had 5 different high school coaches in the past 5 years! Suffice it to say that girl’s soccer at my kids’ school isn’t a very high priority with anybody except “soccer people”!

I’ll always remember my oldest daughter coming home after being “pounded” pretty bad at an away game her Junior year – I asked her if she had fun that night. She said eating pasta at the restaurant with the team after the game was fun! What a valuable lesson for her and me! It’s not all about what happens on the field – it’s about those life lessons learned from just being together. It is possible to find good in every situation.

We should all take time to thank our coaches – they’re the ones who create a positive atmosphere for our kids – they’re the ones who put themselves “in the arena” time and again – they’re the ones whose place is “never with those cold and timid souls who have never tasted victory or defeat”!

You folks that have kids playing at established programs with “long term” coaches should appreciate what your kids have got! Coaches – especially successful coaches – are a unique and special breed of people. I am deeply appreciative of those coaches who have influenced my kids through the years. I’ll always appreciate those high school coaches who understood the situation my kids were in and saw fit to include them in post-season honors.

So – high school soccer is all over for us now. Some of you reading this post have experienced this bittersweet feeling – some of you have yet to experience it – it’s somewhat indescribable. I’ll always treasure the memories and the lessons we’ve learned – it is indeed “a beautiful game”!

Well said and great stuff 21dad.

Glad you and your daughters enjoyed the ride.

Thank you 2d1dad for stating so much of what I have felt. My keeper daughter went out with a bang yesterday in our loss to Riverside and like you said, what a ride! South Aiken now has a steady, excellent coach but it wasn't always so, and similar to you, we had 3 coaches in the last four years. Our seniors, as sophomores, had a terrible coaching experience and many, if not most of our Lower State champion seniors were going to drop out of high school soccer. Coach Young has brought our program back. Good coaching is so important on a variety of levels. South Aiken has a very bright future for its women's soccer program and I expect them to be back in Columbia next year. The experience of this year will serve them well next year. Our seniors were fine yesterday but our younger girls were very nervous. Next year they will be experienced in championship play. All is a part of the ride and even in a loss, was fun to watch, and just made me love them more.
My daughter gets to move on to the the next level as do a couple more of our seniors. Others had the chance but have opted for other opportunities. As a keeper's dad, I guess I get to keep adding to my gray hair. However, as you have said, the highs and lows, the trips home in total silence, or total ecstasy, and too many discussions about second guesses, have been, in perfect hindsight, wonderful. A lot about life has been learned by me, my daughter, and all of our players. I am blessed to have been a part. Thanks again for your comments.

I wanted to say thank you, from a coach's standpoint, for a great post! A lot of what you said reminded me of players on our team--again, not a "soccer powerhouse," but finding ways for players to love the game and take pride in what they do. My four-year starting keeper is graduating this year--I still remember her first varsity match ever. A freshman, she had never played in the goal before, and with nothing but preseason training her first-ever varsity match went to PK's. It was one of a very few wins that season, but one I think she'll carry with her for a long time...and many times I think the team coming together to rally after a tough loss has carried just as far. With the right attitudes and priorities, the positives really do carry farther than the negatives.

My thanks is to all of the parents like you--and I have been fortunate to be blessed with them--who support your daughters and sons in what they do, win or lose, and place importance on the quality of experience, life lessons learned, character, sportsmanship, development,and just plain enjoyment of what they do rather than just looking at the tally in the win-loss columns. Your support, and the values you instill in the young people you share with us, help to make this job one of the most rewarding and worthwhile a coach could ask for...I'm sure I speak for many when I say thank you.

One of my favorite posts ever. We love them because they are daughters who happen to play soccer and not the other way around. Love this post.

the beauty is, it ain't over.
after all the love & support they've had for the sport over the years, we'll probably get to watch these same girls coach & teach our grandkids the same respect for the sport.