Well the great big annual soccer tournament has finally come and gone. In the last few weeks leading up to it the excitement and anticipation (never mind the endless practices at unreasonable times) felt like it would never end.

In case you missed it, this past Saturday I was a ‘Soccer Mom’ in all the glory that the stereotype implies: I Can’t Keep Calm, I’m a Soccer Mom!

Despite my feelings on how important competition is, and how winning is not a bad thing, my daughter handed me a dose of reality on Friday after her final practice session. She is naturally competitive but despite being five years old she knew that her team were not the strongest in their pool, and they were going in a team member short with only four in their squad. She actually broke down crying saying “what if we don’t win mommy?”

I was so sad for her and felt a little guilty for maybe being part of the pressure she was feeling. So I did the right thing as a mother and explained to her that it wasn’t about winning, it was about playing your best and that being part of a team is a good thing, no one expected her to win for the whole team. She understood what I was saying, which I was very grateful for.

Her understanding of what I was explaining is just another reason for me to be proud of her. It shows that she was mature enough to realise that being part of a team and working together is something honorable; and also the main lesson that as long as she played her best I didn’t care if they won or lost, I’d be proud of her anyway.

So the day dawned not so bright and far too early after I had over-indulged with friends the night before (lesson learnt- punishment a little extreme, but I survived).

I got the girls ready in their team kit and they looked so super cute, and we headed off to the school. I was so relieved to discover that the fields they were playing on were right next to each other so I didn’t have to run too far and if I stood in the middle I’d be able to watch them both play when they were playing at the same time.

I am proud to report that both my girls are awesome little footballers/soccer players. I’m honestly not just saying that, they are awesome! I would definitely rank them in the top 3 in their age-group and they both scored quite a few goals each.

It was exhausting though, and by my youngest’s last game, she just couldn’t do it anymore and decided to bench herself by sitting down in the goals and refusing to play anymore saying she wanted to go home. lol – bless her.

My eldest played extremely well and you can really see the difference between last year and this year and the way her and her classmates’ development and ‘skill’ has improved.

Unfortunately neither of their teams won, but after the way they played I could not be prouder of both of them. They were both a bit disappointed, especially my eldest, not to win medals, but that’s okay – it too is a valuable lesson they should learn. By the time we limped to the car, my youngest was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open and napped the rest of the day. Yes – she’s My Sneaky Sleeper .

I am a “Soccer Mom”, hear me roar.

On reflection though, I embodied the stereotype ‘sports mom’ by running up and down the sidelines, shouting instructions, the odd mumbled curse word and indulging in far too many eye-rolls and tuts when mistakes were made – no, I’m not proud of that. Mommy learned a bit more about herself than she liked too! ?

Well done girls, let’s see what the future holds. I am a very proud mommy!

JakiJellz
The Pramshed
My Random Musings