Miss C, ninth season of soccer, age 8
I don’t have an athletic bone in my body, so it is pleasantly surprising to me that my first-born daughter, Miss C, is not just playing soccer, but excelling at it. The season winds down this weekend and her team is undefeated.
I was always the scrawny girl with wild long hair who was just a wee bit uncoordinated. The only sport I was playing when I was 8 was holy terror dodge ball instigated by sadistic 4th grade boys who looked 14 trying to fatally wound 3rd graders, especially the scrawny ones that they could pick off one by one on the playground.
Miss C is wrapping up her ninth season of soccer. It’s difficult for me to even wrap my brain around that, but she has the trophies proudly displayed in her bedroom to prove it. Nine seasons? Did she start playing IN THE WOMB? No, but she did start playing when she was just 4. Playing soccer at age 4 is really an excuse for parents to take pictures of their kids looking completely adorable running around aimlessly in black soccer shorts and colorful jerseys that swallow them.
It’s funny, well not really, what babies you have still when your kids are 4. You don’t even realize it until you look back at their photos.
Miss C, first season of soccer, age 4
Wow! It seems like yesterday she was just starting! Time is zooming by like that with my little one too! And, I hear you about no athletic bone in your body. I used to hate the PE teacher who put out the volley balls for dodge ball games. And what was with those nine year old boys with arms like they’d been lifting in the gym and shooting up with roids?
She looks so happy! Congrats on having a daughter who is so talented. I’m the same, I’m not remotely good at sport yet my son blows me away with his hockey skills. Husband and I look at each other bewildered and wonder: “where on earth did that gene come from?”
Ah yes, have you seen this?
http://stuffgrowing.blogspot.com/2010/10/soccer.html
(Sorry, I haven’t bothered to learn how to do the embedded link thing in comments. Why yes, I did take HTML in college. Then I forgot it.)
Aww, she is absolutely adorable!! I love both pics, but the 4 year old pic especially melts my heart—she was so tiny!!
Oh, I know what you mean! I’ve been a soccer mom for five years now. And I had both the experienced player this fall (Hannah) in her fourth year of playing, and the 4-year-old (Becca) running around in oversized jersey and shorts. Which was darn cute.
I know that I’ll blink and she’ll be likely starting her fourth year of playing before I know it too. Sigh.
Way to go, Miss C!!
Too cute! Don’t you love it when they find something they love? Sort of.
Your description of 4-year-old soccer champs is right on. I have a ton of photos of my grandchild being a lovable doofus on the field.