Ian's Soccer Games

Ian has had 3 soccer games now.

I didn't quite know what to expect to see at a soccer game played by a bunch of 3 year olds. It was actually very cute and a little humorous. They play 4 on 4 which is plenty of kids on the field, especially if they are all first-timers. The coaches line the kids up and referee the games. For games the coaches follow some simple rules....

Rule #1 - Don't pick up the ball. Most kids successfully do this. There has only been a handful of times where a child has needed to stop the ball by using his/her hands.

Rule # 2 Know which goal is yours. At least one goal during the game is scored in the wrong goal - at least one....

Rule #3 - GO AFTER THE BALL! Surprisingly, many of the children have a hard time with this concept. When two kids are in close vacinity of the ball, sometimes one just lets the other child have it. It's kind of like you see the child saying, 'Oh, you want to kick it?  Go ahead. Be my guest.' There is also a phenomenon which I call the herd mentality. Everyone seems to follow the ball in one big group. Assisting is not really in their repertoire yet.


Ian has mastered Rules 1 and 2. He still has a little trouble with Rule #3 depending on how he's feeling that day. The first game he played, he wasn't quite sure how aggressive he should be. Evidently the second game, he was awesome and scored several goals. (I missed game 2 because I was out of town). Game 3, he wasn't feeling very well, so he tried, but gave up pretty quickly. There were a couple of bursts of greatness, but no goals scored.

I think Ian really enjoys soccer. This video was taken on one of his good days at practice: