Can someone explain Saturday morning soccer to me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And as a bonus OP you get to meet all kinds of awesome moms just like the ones responding here!

Haha, you're awesome.

My parents repeatedly tried to force team sports on me, including soccer. I hated it! Didn't find out until college that I loved individual sports and even competed.

[Anonymous]

^^^
Forgot to add I always swore I'd never be a soccer mom. Now I know why....

[Anonymous]

Not for nothing, but kids sports are a big part of the universal experience of children in America. I was a terrible athlete, but played little league baseball for two or three years - I still look back at it fondly, joke about it at company softball games, and inevitably on facebook or at high school reunions some of my old friends will pull out the pictures from that team and we'll laugh about it and remember the dumb and funny things we did.

Same goes for my kids - neither is athletic, both played rec soccer and baseball when they were little. Neither plays any more, but they had a good time and even now are a bit nostalgic about their team sport experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't do something that you personally hate just for the kid's sake. They will sense your resentment and it is unsustainable for the long term.
We were out the door every Saturday morning for Suzuki violin while our neighbors ran off to soccer. I loved the music and listening to my kids play music and I loved the diverse group of parents who had kids doing music. Former college athletes who were competitive about little kids sports? Not so much. These were not people I would have befriended under other circumstances nor were they the people I could picture surrounding myself with as a community as I raised my children. Think about what you truly enjoyed most when you were young -- I loved scouts and loved volunteering with scouts as an adult. My kids joke that I loved Girl Scouts more than they did! It might be true! We all loved swim team. We loved youth orchestra. But don't drag yourself through something just because everyone else is doing it. Find something that nourishes your soul and brings you into contact with activities and people that you love.

But make sure to let your kids do things even when their preferences might diverge from yours. What if one of your kids really loves soccer? Will you allow that child to play on a team even if the other parents aren't the types with whom you'd like to surround yourself?

My kids have all been very different from each other and from my spouse and me. Very rarely have our kids' interests overlapped with ours. We have had the opportunity to learn about all kinds of new activities because our kids have become involved and I think all our lives have been better because we have been open to a wide variety of new experiences.

Our kids aren't always carbon copies of ourselves and sometimes want to strike off in very different directions than we would choose. We can't shut down our kids' interests because they don't align with our own but instead we can help them and support them and learn together as a family about new things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You really need to ask this? Exercise, friendship, socialization, acclimation with things like authority, discipline, and structure, knowledge of the rules of the sport, experience with the sport, and gee I don't know, FUN???

Don't do it if you don't want to but don't excuse your laziness by thinking it's not worthwhile for the kids.

+1. It's quite simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate weekend classes or practices and try very hard to avoid them. We are so busy all week and down time is important. A perfect Saturday for is Lounging in pjs, watching some cartoons, making pancakes and going for a long walk that includes the playground and the library.

But DD is 7 now and it's getting harder and harder. If she wants to do an activity with Saturday classes or practices I let her. But we don't seek them out.

Don't you want her to play a sport or do some type of activity? If she doesn't start now, how will she make the team when it actually does get competitive and they can't keep everyone who wants to play?

She has done and does lots of activities, including swimming, capoeira, yoga, karate, soccer and ballet. We have a tennis camp slated for August. We let her explore what interests her without projecting our ambitions on her. I've simply made an effort to avoid Saturday's in the service of preserving valuable free time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate weekend classes or practices and try very hard to avoid them. We are so busy all week and down time is important. A perfect Saturday for is Lounging in pjs, watching some cartoons, making pancakes and going for a long walk that includes the playground and the library.

But DD is 7 now and it's getting harder and harder. If she wants to do an activity with Saturday classes or practices I let her. But we don't seek them out.

Don't you want her to play a sport or do some type of activity? If she doesn't start now, how will she make the team when it actually does get competitive and they can't keep everyone who wants to play?

She has done and does lots of activities, including swimming, capoeira, yoga, karate, soccer and ballet. We have a tennis camp slated for August. We let her explore what interests her without projecting our ambitions on her. I've simply made an effort to avoid Saturday's in the service of preserving valuable free time.

New Poster. Then don't act like some holier than thou person who thinks Saturday soccer is beneath them! You ARe a soccer etc. mom, your kid just does it on a different day. Eyeroll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids love sports and being active. Not that complicated.

But why, oh why, do people "love sports"? What exactly do you mean with that? Why not "being active" playing online games? Can someone explain sports to me? TIA

I think that you either love sports or you don't. If you don't understand the appeal, I don't think anyone can really explain it to you. I grew up in a family that loved watching most sports. We were all active, but none of us were particularly athletic and we didn't excel in any specific sport (we also lived in a country where recreational team sports for kids were not as prevalent as they are here). Decades later, we all still love sports. My sister-in law doesn't get it, but my husband does.

Now I have my own fmaily, and we are similarly interested in sports. My son is only six, but he's a natural athlete, and loves sports of all kinds. What does he love about sports? He loves to run. He loves to master new skills. He loves any activity with a ball. He loves competition.

[Anonymous]

Some kids are just morning people, too. I think the people who enjoy it the most (parents and kids) are the ones where both the child and parent are morning people. I know families where one parent and one kid gets up early to go to soccer, etc. and love it and the rest of the family sleeps in at home.

[Anonymous]

My kid is not at all naturally athletic or coordinated. She had no interest in team sports when she was 6 and we, like you, were perfectly happy sitting around the house/going to museums/doing family activities. By the time she was 9, she did have interest in team sports -- but she was so far behind the other kids who had been playing since they were 5 that she couldn't keep up and hated it.

I don't think I would have done anything different in retrospect -- our family time was wonderful! -- but I am sad for her that we unknowingly foreclosed the possibility of team sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate weekend classes or practices and try very hard to avoid them. We are so busy all week and down time is important. A perfect Saturday for is Lounging in pjs, watching some cartoons, making pancakes and going for a long walk that includes the playground and the library.

But DD is 7 now and it's getting harder and harder. If she wants to do an activity with Saturday classes or practices I let her. But we don't seek them out.

Don't you want her to play a sport or do some type of activity? If she doesn't start now, how will she make the team when it actually does get competitive and they can't keep everyone who wants to play?

She has done and does lots of activities, including swimming, capoeira, yoga, karate, soccer and ballet. We have a tennis camp slated for August. We let her explore what interests her without projecting our ambitions on her. I've simply made an effort to avoid Saturday's in the service of preserving valuable free time.

New Poster. Then don't act like some holier than thou person who thinks Saturday soccer is beneath them! You ARe a soccer etc. mom, your kid just does it on a different day. Eyeroll.

Some of you are just crazy. I don't think anything is beneath me. We HAVE done Saturday activities, as clearly stated in my original post including ... soccer, twice. Once she liked it. Second time she didn't so we didn't sign up again. If she wants to revisit that is fine with us. When she expresses an interest in something we let her try it. But if there is a weekday option that is what we choose.

As I also said in my first post, it's harder as she gets older. We don't say no because it's on a Saturday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are going to get replies from a lot of people who love team sports so I'll answer first, since I feel the same as you and have an older child. He doesn't like soccer but does other sports that involve practices and weekend games.

I waited until he wanted to and didn't pressure him. As they get older, they don't want to hang out with their parents all weekend. Sports provide activity and social interaction. He has met his best friends through sports, not school.

I'm signing my younger child up for soccer this fall. She's almost 6, only because she has asked repeatedly. There will be plenty of time for team sports later. Don't feel pressured to do this until your child asks if you don't want to.

Op again. Thanks for this perspective! I should be thankful that we're still happy to hang as a family, but you're right that soon friends will be much more enticing!

It's me again. Older DS plays basketball. At least it is inside. I'm not as into sports as these other moms and am happy we don't have to sit outside in cold or rain. He's tried football and it's been miserable for both of us. I'll let them try anything they want within reason. We will see how soccer goes for the younger one. She's doing the local town team.

[Anonymous]

so, for our family, we have 2 working parents. saturday or sunday soccer is great b/c we like being part of their activities. my son is in sunday soccer with kids who are starting at his ES - our first class was last week and it was so nice to meet the families and watch the kids have fun.

i kind of don;t understand why you can't see this,

[Anonymous]

Unathletic mom of 2 boys here. I was never and still not interested in sports. I was a nerd, went to Harvard, etc. This country is obsessed with sports. When I started working, I felt left out when the guys did not invite me to baseball games, fishing outings, tennis and golf tournaments. DH, on the other hand, loves sports. It is instant camaraderie.

Taking my kids to these sporting outings are straight up painful for me but I want my boys to be athletic. They enjoy it so I go. Of course I try to send DH as much as possible so I don't have to go but it is mostly a whole family affair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unathletic mom of 2 boys here. I was never and still not interested in sports. I was a nerd, went to Harvard, etc. This country is obsessed with sports. When I started working, I felt left out when the guys did not invite me to baseball games, fishing outings, tennis and golf tournaments. DH, on the other hand, loves sports. It is instant camaraderie.

Taking my kids to these sporting outings are straight up painful for me but I want my boys to be athletic. They enjoy it so I go. Of course I try to send DH as much as possible so I don't have to go but it is mostly a whole family affair.

The two are not mutually exclusive you know.