Kick (Early) Starter

While Olivia and her teammates were playing the beautiful game in the last tournament of their fall season, I was literally half a world away in Tokyo on a business trip. I eschewed sleep and sanity for to opportunity to follow the action via FaceTime. The late-morning kickoffs proved especially challenging because of the 14-hour time difference, but I cheered and yelled at my iPad as her team won the first game of their entire season, tied another, and nearly pulled off the upset in the championship game.

Face Off

Eight years ago . . .

Now . . .

Ballon A-d'Or-able

The menacing, yet charming stare of a 

first-year footballer

The Ballon d’Or (French for “Golden Ball”) and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award. Recent winners include Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. We live in the age when kids—perhaps their parents—expect to get trophies just for participating in youth sports. While I’m not one to subscribe to that mindset, I do want to recognize my wife and kids for their wholehearted (footed?) embrace of the beautiful game.

Reed will never walk (or stand) alone in his Liverpool kit;

here with other soccer buddies from school

(Photo courtesy of their kindergarten teacher) 

Reed is in his first season in a soccer league—I’m the head coach—and Olivia is competing in travel soccer for the first time. Their mother swore up and down that we would never get swept up by the frenzy that is the American travel-sports complex. We’ve obviously given in to that temptation, but Beni’s keen observation about our foray in this world affirms why this might be a good thing for our family.

Our peripatetic player

From her Instagram account:

One benefit of travel sports is spending each weekend together as a family, hours that we would have been home, running errands, cleaning, playing with friends, distracted from each other. I'm grateful for this time for us to connect, each weekend, in a new place. We've talked, fought, cheered, and laughed. (And she still loves soccer! Phew.)