A new sport

Biscuit knows that Jeff doesn't like soccer, so he's never shown any desire to play. But when we got the fall sports bulletin from the YMCA where Biscuit plays baseball, I thought it couldn't hurt to ask if he was interested.

"Well, Dad doesn't like soccer," Biscuit said.

"Well, Dad won't be playing," I said matter-of-factly.

When Jeff got home that evening, I told him what Biscuit said. And Jeff decided to set the record straight.

"Dude," Jeff said. "It doesn't matter what sports I like. If you want to try it, do it."

"Are you sure?" Biscuit asked.

"Yes," Jeff said. "We're going to support you no matter what."

So the next week, I signed him up for soccer.

His team is the Lil Tigers, which is perfect because tigers are his favorite animals right now (they also have gold jerseys, and he already had gold socks). It's a co-ed team, and there are kids with and without experience.

Actually, there are kids with experience, and then there are three kids who, I'm convinced, learned to kick soccer balls before they learned to walk!

Biscuit has mostly taken a defensive position. That means he and another kid stand in front of the goalie to help keep the other team from scoring. Since Biscuit isn't that good at moving the ball around yet, it's a perfect position for him.

We asked the coach how he was doing, and he said that he could tell that Biscuit was eager to learn, but that he needs to be more aggressive.

They've had two practices, and tonight was their first game. They won, but only because of a couple of those kids I mentioned earlier. But I think Biscuit enjoyed being on the field. Well, except for when I had to make a hand motion at him for acting silly just to make the goalie laugh!

The most unbearable thing that we endured this evening was some of the other parents. They can be SO obnoxious! And their special little angels should have the ball at all times, despite the fact that there are eight other players out there.

We watched a little bit of the game before ours, and there was one dad who stood by the goal and instructed his son. Nevermind that the coach was also trying to tell the kid what to do. The dad was yelling instructions about how the kid could do the best for himself. Meanwhile, the coach is trying to teach them about teamwork. I asked Jeff if I could go over and at least tell him to shut up and sit down. But he said no.

Here are a few pictures of Biscuit from tonight's game:

Standing guard.

Not sure what this fancy move is.

Nice pass to the other kid.

Trying out some footwork.