Soccer, Friends, and Wine
Nothing like driving your kids to wine country for a soccer tournament, especially when you get along great with the other team parents. A totally different experience than taking a hot date on a spontaneous wine-tasting fling. But that’s the two sides of being a single parent. Wine and good company are fabulous ingredients, either way.
Some weekend highlights:
- Soccer, soccer, soccer – we watched my daughter’s team play four games, win them all, and be crowned tournament champs.
- Gooooooooooooooool!!! – my daughter scored four goals (woohoo!) and was involved in several others. The goal-scoring karma on this team tends to go around. In a different tournament, another girl might get those touches. My daughter looked great at center-mid –poised, calm, collected. She reminded me of Andrea Pirlo from AC Milan.
- Ice cream – the ice cream man in his jingle-playing truck came by twice during one game, and we hit him up both times!
- Swimming – whenever the girls weren’t playing soccer, they were in the hotel jacuzzi and pool. With other teams at our hotel, there was a pack of 12-year-old girls who took a definite liking to one particularly handsome long-haired board-short-wearing boy. My son the teen idol! Haha.
- Enjoyable conversation – my daughter’s team has been together for years, and the parents are a likeable group. During a match, we’ll talk about anything and everything. It’s sort of like a cocktail party without drinks.
- Wine tasting – okay, we were in wine country so some of us made it to a few wineries. Enough said.
Our daughters rock – over the years it’s been great to see each girl on the team develop her game and grow in confidence, maturity, poise. Two-touch passes, finding passing lanes, scoring off headers. laughing and enjoying themselves. They’re competitive, for sure, and consistently win. But it’s not a win-at-all-cost mentality. These girls just want to have fun.
I’ve been watching some of these girls play soccer with my daughter for more than ten years. And I wouldn’t trade my sideline experience for anything.
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Comment by Shannon
| August 11th, 2008
I love soccer tournament bonding time. B just started her premier league last year and I really enjoyed the whole experience. We had a meeting yesterday regarding our (gasp) winter session which starts in November and I was nearly as excited as she was!
Comment by The Exception
| August 11th, 2008
Sounds like your son is a chip off the block! ;)
It is neat to watch kids grow and learn together as a group. Not only is it great to see them grow as a team on the field, but seeing them grow as people, individuals, and as friends. They become a sort of family – as do the parents.
Comment by Single Mom in New England
| August 11th, 2008
Wow, sounds like a great weekend. It’s always fun when your team wins – your daughter is quite the soccer stud! Congratulations to her!
Hope I’ll be in your shoes, enjoying the tourneys as my son gets older! (He’s 3 but can still drive that inflatable BackYardigans ball all the way down the field! – hysterical to watch)
Here’s a single parenting question: It appears your ex wasn’t at the tourney – how have you negotiated time at sporting events over the years? Do you alternate? Do you both have the same set of parents/friends at the game? Just curious as how this all works, as the years go on… you’ve obviously figured it out and are enjoying it! :)
Comment by dadshouse
| August 11th, 2008
You’re right, my ex wasn’t there. For away tournaments, the parent who has custody of the kids usually takes them and the other skips. For home or nearby games, we both attend. We sometimes even sit together and discuss co-parenting concerns. It’s usually only awkward if she brings her boyfriend to a game – other parents have met him, but they’re friends with me and my ex, so no one really knows how to interact. It can be a little weird.
Comment by Lia
| August 11th, 2008
When I was younger I was on a traveling soccer team that travel all over the US. I swear our families had just as much fun as we did since we were all together so much. We would LOVE when our parents would all go to dinner without us leaving us to be CRAZY. OK, OK, it helped that there was always boys teams at the tournaments too. ;-)
Comment by justrun
| August 11th, 2008
Sounds like a great weekend! Congrats to the little soccer studs!
Comment by Tonya
| August 11th, 2008
I just enrolled my 6 year old in soccer. She is thrilled. I haven’t heard when the first practice is yet but I can’t wait to see her go!!
Comment by NewWrldYankee
| August 11th, 2008
I really need to learn about soccer – that is the only sport that means anything around these parts! Funny enough, I just went to my town’s annual wine tasting of wines from all over Hungary – Seems like its the season for it! Glad you had such a great weekend.
Comment by Kat Wilder
| August 11th, 2008
My rule is this: if the parents are boring, my kid doesn’t get signed up to play. Period.
Everyone I know I’ve met through The Kid (pretty much), so it’s a good rule, if one must have rules …
Comment by laurakim123
| August 11th, 2008
Sounds like loads of fine! My son is going to start cricket next month and we are both beyond excited!
LOL Kat thats a pretty cool rule!
Comment by andyfree1
| August 12th, 2008
i use to play football in my school days and i really miss it.
Comment by katherine.
| August 13th, 2008
I always enjoyed the time we spent at soccer tourneys. The group of parents we had bonded on the sidelines…and went to dinners as a group.
There was one time when the girls were in early high school a couple of the boys teams were at the same hotel. The parents opted for the outback across the street…rather than a nicer place across town…we took turns at chaperone. smile.
There were games when we both showed up with a significant other in tow. Most of the time it worked out just fine….but I know the other parents were watching out of the corner of their eye….
Comment by Juicebox.mom
| August 23rd, 2008
What an awesome soccer player you have. I must admit I truly enjoy the tournaments, too. Lots of good bonding time with your kid. It’s especially enjoyable when you’ve been hanging with the same kids and parents for years and you have a good group.