I love to watch soccer.

This is a good thing, because three out of four children are playing this season.

However, I should probably restate the above more accurately and say that I only really love to watch good soccer. This poses a problem as my kids are all playing in a church rec league...while this doesn't really matter for the youngest (trust me, U6 is U6 no matter how much you pay or practice...they all look like a pack of puppies chasing a ball), watching soccer played badly by older children can be excruciating for anyone who actually understands the rule and strategy of the game.

It hasn't been a year with a lot of good soccer, just a lot of soccer. One memorable tournament weekend there were nine games to watch between the three players, and only once were they double booked!

I have found, in lieu of satisfying my inner rabid sports fan, I really enjoy "people watching" my kids and seeing how their personalities play out on the field.

Our firstborn is fast, aggressive, and utterly careless of personal injury, as long as it is for the cause of the goal (or the save when she's the keeper). While in "real life" she's as girly as they come, she lives by the motto, "No ladies on the soccer field" and has more than once told a team mate, "Don't apologize for kicking/taking the ball/etc....this is soccer". She's a leader, and not afraid to be unpopular for taking charge. Unfortunately, like her mother (cringe) she has little tolerance for those who don't contribute the 110% she does, on or off the field. Also, like her mom (cringe again) she'll flat out tell you that she's tired of the "As long as you're having fun..." attitude of many parents. Her take, "It's not fun when you get your butts kicked all the time!" She's more or less decided that next year she's going to club level or finding another sport to play, because the rec league isn't getting her the results she wants for her effort.

Our second child is a strong defender who loves to play goalie or back line, but shies away from the more aggressive front line offensive positions. His skills are strong, but his play largely depends on his mood. He's on or off on any given day, and much of his performance depends on how prepared for/familiar he is with the situation. He is capable of leadership, but has to be nudged into it by his circumstances, preferring to let someone else take over if he can. When he does lead, he has a strong encouraging bent. He's much less concerned with the game outcome than his sister, and spends more time just "kicking around" the ball with buddies before and after games for the fun of it. The level of rec play he's experienced this year is just about perfect for him, and he's expressed no desire to move up to the levels of club/traveling soccer (which suits mom and dad just fine!).

The self-monikered Princess Piggy loves to go to soccer practice "because its fun and we get to play games there". She is indifferent to actual games and always gives them up willingly to attend the seemingly unending stream of Kindergarten birthday parties she is invited to on any given weekend. When she actually goes to her games, her attention is more engaged by looking for her friends in the crowd and/or chatting than what her team is doing. Out on the field she cheerfully chases the pack and "defends the goal" (can you tell she has to watch a lot of her older siblings games over the years?), but isn't interested in wrestling the ball from her more aggressive (mostly boy) teammates. In her mind, the statements "I scored a goal" and "My teammate scored a goal" are identical. And for her, nothing is more important than the snacks at the end of the match! She's told us in no uncertain terms that she'd much prefer dance class to soccer next year, thank you. (Again, this will make mom and dad very happy).

Soccer season ended for our oldest today and will end for the other children next week. I think we're all ready. I may not have seen much World Cup level playing, but I've been blessed to get some insight into who each of these wonderful creations are and where we need to help them file off rough edges and mold their characters. That's worth many, many Saturdays of freezing/burning up/being wind burnt/ etc cheering (and cringing) on the sidelines.