winners never quit

last december, e began to go to soccer classes with her dad. we thought it would make for some good daddy-daughter bonding as we transitioned the new baby into e's world. we also thought it would make for a good built-in nap time for the new momma. ellie went, week after week, enjoying the class. it was a parent participation class, so each week, scott and ellie would spend the 50 minutes together learning soccer skills. afterwards, scott would take ellie to her favorite restaurant, calbay. she is a huge fan of this little diner because they have a santa boot hanging from the ceiling, making it look like santa has fallen through the roof above and gotten his leg stuck. she is also a big fan of the chocolate chip pancakes served to look like mickey mouse... but i'm getting off topic.

at the end of the session, scott asked e if she wanted to sign up for the next set of classes. e gave an adamant "no". she did not want to do soccer again. we were surprised because she had enjoyed it so much, but decided to let her make the choice. several months passed and e started talking about soccer again. she wanted to go back. it so happened that she wanted to do this in the middle of the summer and we were going to be out of town for quite a few saturdays, so we made her wait a bit. the same thing happened with the first fall session. and so we waited again. december rolled around again and scott had a chat with e.

s: are you sure you want to start soccer again?


e: YES!


s: once we sign up, we are sticking with it. do you understand?


e: yes, dad! i want to do it.


s: parents don't participate in this age group. you're getting older, so daddy will just watch from the sidelines.


e: yes, dad! i want to do it.


and so he signed her up. he took her, calbay and all, and she HATES it. for the past month, she has cried about soccer a lot. usually, it happens on friday night at bedtime... you know, the night when you are really tired, looking forward to some quality couple time and just want the kiddos tucked snug as a bug in a rug...?

as the mom that has not stepped foot into the soccer center, i've been asking scott a lot of protective mommy questions.

are the kids in her class nice to her? is the coach encouraging? is it fun? does she get enough attention? do they give positive reinforcement?...

this saturday, scott was spending some time doing a bathroom remodel, so it was my turn to take e to soccer. and with my very own eyes, i was able to see the dreaded soccer class.

the coaches were positive, friendly and encouraging. they were skilled and put together some well thought out drills. the kids didn't drool or have snaggle teeth. they were in fact a quite normal run of the mill bunch of kiddos. the parents were even nice.

and given the smile that was plastered across my little soccer gal's face, i think she likes it. i am starting to think, however, that she does not like bedtime on friday nights.