I brought my now wife Lynndee and her son Yogi to the US from the Philippines in November of 2010 and they began their adventure of living in a new country. By the fall of 2013, Yogi had advanced to the 5th grade. He came home one day with literature from the local soccer youth league and expressed an interest in giving it a try. By that time I’d already turned him on to Carolina Tar Heel college basketball and Atlanta Braves baseball and had actually taken him and Lynndee to Atlanta to see the Braves play. Up to that point, he had never participated in any organized youth sports. I was happy to see him wanting to give sports a try. I played little league and had coached elementary school girls basketball and am an avid sports fan. But the one thing I had no idea about was soccer. Still, his mom and I were more than willing and ready to support his wishes.
Last week he completed his second full season of playing soccer and has become a very competitive player. And I now have a new sport added to my list of likes. The season is broke down into two-a-year, fall and spring. It begins with practice in August, and games played in September and October. The spring season starts with March practice followed by games in April and May. There’s eight games per season and his teams record in those four season is 25 wins and 7 losses, including two first place division finishes, two second place along with one undefeated season. What a blast it has been watching these kids play their hearts out.
In action! That’s Yogi on the far left.
Soccer truly has had a great impact on Yogi’s growing up as well as his integration into a new culture and society. He’s made many new friends and having had no sports experience at all, he’s developed great skills at a sport that is a total mystery to me. I still haven’t even learned all the rules. When the referee blows the whistle and yells off side, the only thing I can think of is a football off side which is nothing at all like a soccer off side, though soccer is actually called football in most other countries. Apparently, we borrowed the name football from the true sport.
There are several positive attributes to playing soccer that have a positive influence on kids. To name a few:
1 – It’s Simple
There’s no major need of special equipment, though to play competitively cleated shoes and shin guards are needed. But basically, all needed is a ball and a space to play in.
2 – Anyone Can Play
Who doesn’t love kicking a ball, especially kids! The game is easy to learn and with each competition skills are improved and a more in depth knowledge of the game is developed.
3 – Learning to Work Hard
To become good at something takes dedicated effort. When a group of kids form a team, all work together towards a common goal, helping each other reach the success they’re striving for.
4 – Learning to Lead
In any team endeavor, someone must take charge and show the way. On Yogi’s team, the team captain is chosen on a rotating basis, giving all a chance to learn leadership skills.
5 – Learning How to be a Good Sport
Any team player needs to learn how to play a sport with dignity and fairness, which Yogi’s coach makes a number one priority. After each game, one of the team players is given a coin when they’ve displayed not only great play but shown good sportsmanship on the field.
6 – Endurance
Learning how to play through tough times, including weather, injuries and cold streaks in playing ability is of the utmost importance. A couple of times this year, there were only eight players showed up for a game, the minimum needed to complete a team. Therefore, all the kids had to play the entire one-hour game with no substitutions. Definitely tough, but the kids were rough and tough and did the job. And one time Yogi took a hard kicked ball right to the face. He had to leave the game initially, but he sucked it up and went right back out there and played his heart out.
7 – Health
It’s never too early for one to consider their physical health, even at a young age. Soccer is a good start for heart health and muscular development, as well as learning about good nutrition and the avoidance of drugs and other bad habits that could affect playing ability.
8 – Friendship
What better way to make friends than to work and play together doing something enjoyable.
Yogi’s growing collection of good play and sportsmanship awards.
This truly has been a learning experience for the entire family, as well as good bonding. And Yogi has made outstanding progress in learning a game from the ground up. Initially, the coach used him at several positions, ultimately deciding that his forte was playing forward. The coach said he was perfect for that spot due to his small size and speed. We’ve heard many parents exclaim, even parents from the opposing teams, “Look at how fast that kid is!” Who knows? Maybe later on, his next sport will be track and field. He’d certainly be a great competitor in the hundred-yard dash. As for now, were anxiously awaiting the beginning of next season and the possibility of another undefeated team.
I think it’s awesome when kids find their “thing”. My little guy hasn’t found his yet, but my big guy’s is karate.
I love sports, and I think any kid who’s interested should definitely be given a shot at them. Sports builds discipline, community, self-confidence, and so much more.
You’re a great dad! Yogi seems like he had a great season! Soccer is so popular and it really is great for kids!
Do you know I have never seen a real soccer game!! I did watch my VERY YOUNG grandson play last year.
I am so glad Soccer has a wonderful impact on your son. I actually started playing soccer after college and was surprised to learn the things you listed! I loved it! And it was a great weight maintenance program! 🙂
I definitely agree with those positive impacts of soccer. I think hockey, soccer and other team sports are great for kids at young ages even if they don’t plan on continuing.
It is really good to have your kids in sports, it makes them not only healthier but have a very good working ethic! It takes a lot of hard work training, no better place to learn it.
I learned about soccer when my daughter was in middle school and they didn’t have a coach. I volunteered, not knowing a thing about it. But I’ve always been into sports and played it in school, so I got by. Now my grandkids play soccer.
These are some very important life lessons to learn in life. I am sure your son will gain even more skills as a result of playing a sport.
I really wish I would have joined soccer when I was in school. I wasn’t in any sports at all. I hope that my children will join some kind of sport. I think it would be great for them.
I’m so glad to hear that such a great sport has made such an impact on your son. Sports have such a great way of helping kids form friendships, build confidence, and learn a TON about how to interact with one another. So glad to have gotten my boys in love with soccer, just like their soccer coach daddy.
It is amazing what being a member of a sports team can do for a kid. My daughter has been swimming so much lately, I want to get her on a team.
This is wonderful! My sons LOVE soccer and people find it weird when I say how much soccer had made an impact on their lives. Two of them are on teams and we get it!!!
Soccer was always my thing so when my kids school finally introduced the sport I couldn’t wait for them to join. My kids really enjoy playing and have a good time.
That is so awesome that he has taken up and loves Soccer. I wish my kids would find a sport that they would like to play.
Sports can teach us all a lot of good lessons! It doesn’t matter if it is soccer or baseball or basketball, whatever. They do teach valuable lessons, if everyone adheres to the rules!
Glad to hear your son enjoys this. Any sport to get children up and outside doing something is great. We are not soccer fans but, like I said, any sport that gets children involved is good for them.
We are finding the same impact the sport has on our son too – he loves to play and there are so many positive things that he has learnt, many of which you have mentioned in your post. One of the most important ones is being a team player no matter what level of skill your team members are.
I’m glad your son is really digging “the beautiful game.” Soccer really is a great activity for kids because how open it is to everyone.
It’s great that your son is getting so into soccer. My husband has recently started watching professional leagues and has remarked that he wishes he had played it when he was younger now.
It’s great that your son is loving soccer and is getting so many great benefits from it. I can’t wait until my boy is old enough for sports too.
My daughter has played soccer for 2 years. She loves it. It is a great sport, easy to enroll and a great team experience. I am glad it worked well for your son
Soccer really is a good way to get the heart pumping AND make friends. My son’s in his 4th season. I love watching the games. 🙂
Team sports is definitely important to children for many reasons. My kids played several sports until they found their love for running and joined cross country and track at school.
our 11 and 9 year olds have been playing for a couple of years now and I’ve actually started coaching too, it’s a cool experience, though I think the kids on my team got frustrated last year because they knew more than I did about soccer.
My son is almost old enough for soccer! I can’t wait to start going to games on the weekends and soccer practices!
Soccer helped me with my boychild, I’m so glad I put him in it. Now he can’t wait to go back and do it again.