The Last Soccer Game

I was watching Tristan play his last game of soccer with all the other four year olds yesterday. Tristan said to me last week, 'I hate soccer papa bear.' He said it wasn't fair that he couldn't touch the ball with his hands. I know next to nothing about soccer, but hey, it's always fun to watch kids play any sport, learning organized sports and all that. Watching kids play always takes me back to my childhood when I played flag football and softball.

I didn't take to sports at all until I picked up a tennis racket...It was love at first volley. Although I never had a burning competitive nature, I loved the aesthetics of the game.

The soccer ball rolls along the field with all the kids in a knot, surrounding it until it's kicked out of bounds. A kid throws it in bounds with both hands over-head and the sequence is continued until it's kicked out of bounds again. The parents yell instructions...'kick it!...go the other way!...kick it!'...ad nauseum.

Tristan towers over the other kids. He's going to be a big bruiser when he gets older. He loves baseball and basketball. He hasn't played football yet but when he does, woe be to the kid in his way. It's uncanny how well he throws a ball. I can see him as either a quarterback or pitcher. If he takes up tennis I see many 120 mph serves in his future.