I've been watching the World Cup this weekend keeping an eye on the sport the world loves best. Like the Olympics, it's fun to see the outpouring of national pride as everyone in attendance rallies behind their home team. I'm always intrigued by a championship tournament and felt my country needed me "there" yesterday when they played their opening game.
The bulk of my recent soccer experiences have been tied to Aidan's first year of organized soccer. I have noticed several key differences between his PSA league matches and the World Cup games.
1. Using their heads -- The professionals are always using their noggins, passing the ball around with their domes and even scoring off their craniums. I once discussed with another dad the possibility that his son could utilize a head ball to finish the job on a loose tooth his boy seemed preoccupied with. Aidan also had an inadvertent header that dropped him to the ground last week during skills camp. His face was quite red but he bounced back up surprisingly quickly.
Speaking of taking a bump...
2. Injury recovery -- The guys on the world level do their fair share of rolling around on the pitch after taking a hit. When a guy takes a hard elbow to the head or is the recipient of another dude's cleats in his leg I can understand a little dramatics after a collision. I have not noticed any coaches throwing injured players over their shoulders and carrying them off the field though. Nor have I seen players sitting on their mother's laps being consoled before being encouraged to get back out there.
3. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOALS -- I've yet to witness anything in the stratosphere of the 19 goal game Aidan's team posted during their opener. In fact the highest total goal count in a World Cup game so far (from both teams) is two. We've usually seen two goals (and one kid on his mom's lap) by the time the kids have been chasing the ball around for three minutes.
And when one chases, they all chase...
4. Teamwork -- I love watching little kids play soccer for all of the unchoreographed enthusiasm. It's unlikely the national teams would be seen chasing the ball around like little herds of sheep but the little guys all have one goal in mind...get a foot on that ball. Our little squad of eleven certainly doesn't lack for going after the ball and we've got some good little dribblers but it is certainly more chaotic than the deft strategy of the big boys.
5. Colorful cards -- Instigate a big enough collision on the world stage and you're likely to be shown a red or yellow card by the referee. Cause a mom-come-get-me situation in youth soccer and you may get a suggestion from the coach to slow down a bit but it's unlikely your goal was to leave a pile of scattered bodies in your wake. Most of the discipline I've seen at the youth level has come from horseplay on the sidelines, not paying attention on the field or forgetting that it is just a game and teams from opposing sides don't need to be discussing the score.
6. Post game snacks -- Nothing in the World Cup compares to the post-game dash for the snack cooler that is a staple of youth soccer. Crackers, string cheese, juice boxes, Gatorade and perhaps an occasional cupcake if the player's family has drawn a date near his birthday. Imagine the U.S. finishing an exhausting contest and gathering afterwards for cupcakes with smiles on their faces and frosting on their noses!
I'm looking forward to more futbol on both ends of the spectrum!
The list seemed a little video game heavy so I encouraged him to add items from other categories. He opted for a 3DTV, one of those faucets that turn off and on when you touch it and the fancy refrigerator with the ice cream cake drawer in the middle.
One day he saddled up next to me on the couch with a snack. I reminded him that he should always ask before raiding the cupboards. He informed me that his list said it was time. Fair enough.
