Have you ever noticed as a soccer parent that you could run into another parent from halfway across the country and you’d have similar stories to share? I don’t know what it is about soccer, but I’ve always gotten a kick out of how the stories follow similar lines. That, and the fact that there seem to be so many stories to tell.

So if there are funny stories to tell, there must be a comic strip somewhere to chronicle them. Sure enough, for all you soccer parent junkies, there’s Cleats. Drawn by soccer parent and coach Bill Hinds, who also writes and draws the cartoon feature "Buzz Beamer" for the magazine Sports Illustrated for Kids, the strip is a perfect window into the hilarious world of youth soccer.

 

I saw this comic strip called Cleats a while ago on a trip where the local paper had it but forgot to look it up when I got home. I stumbled across the strip’s website almost by accident the other day and have been laughing ever since. These strips are absolutely hilarious and every soccer parent will laugh knowing how true the gags are. Baby Blues is very similar in how it hits close to home for young families. I think I may need to hassle our local paper to start running it!

Of course if Cleats is in your local paper, you already know how funny it is. But if you’ve never seen this strip – find some time to check it out. You’ll be glad you did. And if you have a special someone who is also a soccer nut, there is a Cleats Collection available too. The earlier strips deal primarily with soccer, while the more recent ones deal with all sorts of kid’s sports.

Here are some of my favorite strips…

U6 Swarm
Folding Chairs
Parent Restraint
Sobbing
The Tunnel with the Babe
Grandma’s Cookies
The seaweed rollups
I’m the coach because I was available
U10 Offsides
Soccer Sideline
U6 Parent/Coach/Ref
Team Mom or Trophy Wife?
Silly Rules
Its Only Assistant Coach!
Oh The Joy Of Finding A Good Team Photographer
No fields – been there, done that
Ah so THAT’s how those things work
Ah the joys of league management
The joys of parents and offsides
Snow Wall
There’s trophies and TROPHIES
Laws of Soccer Hotline
Take A Knee!
Resistance Is Futile! 1
2
3
4
All The Same
EVERYbody does it!
I Gotta Get Me Some Of These!
The Torch
Ah The Joys Of Coaching U6
Off The Post!
Save Gas AND Get Them In Shape
What The U6 Players Are Thinking
Tired At Practice Doesn’t Mean TIRED
SnowKeeper

You can always find the latest strip on the daily page.