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�!
