Firebirds, the Conclusion

The Crazy Firebirds

Nicco finished his first ever soccer experience last weekend. It was quite an adventure. For me.

It all started when my friend invited me to invite Nicco to play on a team with her boy. She told me the registration deadline and of course I procrastinated. It turned out I was a day late. They put me on a waiting list. They had to match up all the kids and coaches and specific requests then see if they had room for Nicco. A few days went by with no word and I was not optimistic. I apologized to my friend and told her I wasn't sure we would get on a team. She saw the glass half full and was sure that they would find a spot for Nicco. And she was right. Apparently, they really had to scramble, beg, and maybe even bribe people to coach these little guys. We did get a coach and enough kids to make a team and Nicco loved it in spite of his full intention to hate it.

Their first game was a 1-1 tie. The kid who scored our goal did not return to our team. I don't know why. Maybe because he was one of two third graders on an otherwise all first grade team? Our bad news bears kept at it. They practiced, they ran, they drilled, they laughed and smiled and had fun breathing air and moving their bodies and getting vitamin D in the sunshine. And they just kept on losing. Not bad though. Their worst loss was 3-0.

I really enjoyed sitting on the side of the hill with my friend and my husband chatting and laughing and giggling at the antics of the kids on the field below. In our conversations it came out that I had coached some middle school teams back in my teaching days. I wanted to keep it a secret because I wanted to watch, not coach, my kid. But it came out.

A few weeks into the season, I heard a horrible news blip on the radio. There was a fatal hit and run accident. Our kids' coach was involved. He would not be returning. One of the moms called me to see if I would be willing to fill in, seeing as how I had some experience and all. So I did.

The first half of the season the kids worked on shooting, passing, and trapping. The second half of the season, we spent more time on positions and spacing. Those little guys were running themselves half to death chasing the ball when they really didn't need to. In the first game I coached I made sure that all the kids played in pretty much whatever position they wanted to. Then I started getting a sense of where they played best and positioned them accordingly. And wouldn't you know, they started playing a lot better.

Their last game day was a double header. Or, a two-headed game, as Nicco called it. They played more offense in those two games than they had all season long. I was sure that they would at least score a goal. I was sure that they could even win one of the games. Alas, they did not. But, they only lost 1-0 in each game. I told them how proud I was of them for trying so hard and learning so much. I told them they can learn as much from losing as they can from winning and as long as they try their very best and keep learning and keep trying, they have the hearts of champions. Nicco said, "I don't feel like a champion." I said, "You're not. But you have a HEART of a champion, IF you learn from losing." The lesson was above his head for now. But he did have a good experience. One we will probably repeat in October.

I have fear that they may ask me to coach again, now that I'm on the radar.