For the love of the game...

Here's something you need to know about our family: we are SOCCER PEOPLE!!! Our son, BJ, made his soccer debut at the ripe old age of 2. He was barely out of pull-ups (come to think of it, he wasn't out of pull-ups at all), but he could sure dribble a soccer ball! It was as if he was meant to play soccer.

Thankfully, his love of the sport has sustained him through endless cold, rainy practices (thanks to a 7-year stint at Fort Lewis, WA), sporadic injuries, sore muscles, and general fatigue. And now, 11 years later, on any given Saturday afternoon you will find our family seated on the sidelines, cheering our soccer-loving son on.

Since BJ's soccer skills have grown throughout the years, he now plays Premier travel soccer year round. He was even fortunate enough to make the cut for our state's Olympic Development Program team, and was selected to travel to Alabama this past summer to compete against other elite soccer players in the Southern region.

Though soccer has continued to play a huge role in our lives, I must admit there is a certain toll that the increased competitiveness of elite soccer takes on my love of the sport. Have you ever heard of "The Law of Diminishing Returns"? You know, the more chocolate you eat, the lower the satisfaction from each additoinal piece? Yeah, that. For every level BJ rises within the sport of soccer, there is less "pure joy" to be had. Soccer is now "serious business." You snooze you loose. Poop or get off the pot. Put up or ...well, you get the picture.

This weekend, however, I had a rather nostalgic experience. My baby, BLillie, had her VERY first soccer game ever! And talk about bringing back the pure joy!

I'd forgotten how fun it is to watch a slew of 7-year-olds run hither and thither around the field, chasing the ball, bunched together like a pack of wild dogs tracking a scent. It was awesome to see smiling visages and hear the players laughing as if there was not a care in the world but a rolling ball across a wide green field on a beautiful sunny day.

There is nothing as sweet as listening to the age old adage, "It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game," from the mouth of a tired little girl whose team just lost in a VERY big way. But do you know what? Those were not just words. To BLillie, it really *didn't* matter whether she won or lost, because she had the time of her life!

I feel so blessed to be reminded of how wonderful the recreational side of the sport of soccer can be. Somehow, in the midst of yearly try-outs, tournaments, and travel, I'd forgotten that. In elite soccer, pleasure has been replaced by performance. Wonder had taken a back seat to winning. Gladness only comes by way of goals.

For the next eight weeks (the length of the recreational soccer season), I am going to relish the fact that I can once again experience the "pure joy" that can be found by simply kicking a ball, without strategy or direction, just for the fun of it. I'm going to fall back in love with the sport of soccer. I'm going to sit back, smile, and take it all in.

But only for eight weeks. And then...it's back to business!