On The Pitch

Being a sports parent is an interesting endeavor. You want your kids to succeed at whatever they do and when they choose to play sports, you are instantly thrust into this balancing act between encouraging your kids and not being viewed as one of ‘those parents’. There are a few bad apples in every bunch, including youth sports. Some parents DO take it too serious and can ruin it for their children while embarrassing themselves. But they are the exception by a long shot. The problem is the few are so visible, combined with things like that stupid Bravo reality show Sports Kid’s Moms and Dads, many people assume if you’re a parent of a kid in sports, you’re one of ‘those’ parents.

However, if you’ve never had a child in sports, you probably don’t realize what an interesting experience it can be, especially in youth soccer.

Parents spend countless hours on the sidelines watching their kids at practice and during games. I can’t explain why, but for some reason the sidelines for soccer tend to be VERY social. It may have something to do with sitting on bleachers vs. standing/sitting around on a grassy sideline. And who are the most common inhabitants of the soccer sidelines? Soccer Moms of course (and Dads).

Soccer Moms are an interesting group. Many coaches live in abject fear of some, but overall they are what makes a soccer league thrive. Between shuttling the kids to and from the fields, managing teams, volunteering to handle other league duties, and keeping an eye out for trouble, the life of a Soccer Mom is never boring and is often quite entertaining, especially when they’re on the sidelines during a match.

Which brings me to the point of this post (you knew there HAD to be one). Being involved in youth soccer, I always get a kick out of reading about the experiences of other soccer parents via their blogs. With all the media attention ‘Soccer Moms’ got, you would think there would be more of them out there blogging, not just about being a Soccer Mom, but being a parent in general. Funny thing is, they can be hard to find due to the sheer volume of posts out there and sometimes being in serious denial (I am NOT a Soccer Mom!). There are a ton of Mommy Bloggers, and parents in general, writing about life, so finding the Soccer Moms (and Dads) who write about life on the soccer pitch sidelines can be difficult. Or maybe I’m just not looking in the right places. Search for ‘Soccer Moms‘ and you’re more likely to get back porn sites, or so I’ve heard. 

Since this is a soccer blog with a youth soccer bent, I’m going to try something new. I’ve created a new blogroll category called ‘Soccer Moms’ (when I find a fun blog written by a Soccer Dad, then I’ll update the header 🙂 ). I want to start highlighting blogs that are fun/interesting to read and sometimes include posts related to being a soccer parent. So if you know of an entertaining blog where the author sometimes writes about their life as a soccer parent, post it in the comments and if it’s good enough, it’ll go in the new section. I think it will be interesting to see how the collection grows over time.

The first Soccer Mom I encountered in the blogosphere is Jenn @ Mommy Needs Coffee. If you’ve never read her stuff, you really should. She is an absolute riot with energy to spare. Her posts about her soccer sideline behavior and scaring her son’s coach are not to be missed. But her outtake on life as a whole is fun to read, especially when she encounters clueless grocery clerks. Yet many of her posts can also be very touching.

Then along comes Lisa at LSDM, Soccer Mom. This little project is her fault (and she doesn’t even know it). I happened to notice she had added me to her blogroll (thanks Lisa!) and paid a visit to her blog. When I saw her site’s tagline ‘Rants and raves from a 40-something semi-burnt-out soccer mom.’ and an avatar of a mom with a soccer ball, I knew another Soccer Mom blogger had been found. I was going to add her to my blogroll, but most of those sites were blogs ABOUT soccer. It didn’t fit. So I decided to come up with the new category and to try and find other entertaining Soccer Mom (and Dad) bloggers. Oh, and you all really should post some captions for this picture at LSDM.

Bouncing around the net last night I encountered another fun Soccer Mom blog called, Ramblings of a Suburban Soccer Mom. The Port-O-Potty incident is not to be missed. Anna at Mommy’s Empty Head just became a Soccer Mom and has written some other neat stuff so hopefully she’ll share her experiences. Ever notice how new Soccer Mom’s get that deer in the headlights feeling?

I have never been a big fan of soccer. I have told my best friend on a number of occasions that if either of my sons shows an interest in the game that she can ferry them to practices and games. We live close to a fairly large soccer field, and every year it seems to pour rain whenever there are soccer tournaments. ICK. The idea of standing outside freezing my ass off and getting soaking wet doesn’t do it for me. Unfortunately, once my sons find out that they can kick a ball and get filthy dirty all at once it will be game over. Sigh. At least soccer is cheaper than hockey.

Wonder if they have a ‘Spring’ season in Vancouver! If so, the rain will be the least of your worries! 🙂

So there you have it. 5000+ characters about me creating a new blogroll category. I so have to get out more.

But I really do need your help. If you know of an entertaining blog written by a soccer parent that touches on their soccer experiences from time to time, let me know or post it in the comments. It’ll be interesting to see what gets discovered!