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Women everywhere dream of being “Soccer Moms.” The term, in fact, has come to represent those hands-on moms who do everything possible to ensure they remain deeply involved in their kids’ lives, no matter how busy they otherwise get. Soccer Moms, one can assume, are also PTA Moms, Carpool Moms, and Bake Sale Moms. But the term implies more than that. Soccer Moms (and Lacrosse Moms, Basketball Moms, Softball Moms, and so on) travel with video camera in hand (and have been known to turn warm-up footage into some great inspirational slide shows), spend time practicing with their kids on weekends (some even have a copy of the playbook), and, perhaps most importantly of all, can cheerlead with the best of them. These moms couldn’t wait for the day that their child first put on that adorable little uniform, laced up those cleats, and hit the field running (often in the wrong direction at first). It’s no surprise that moms everywhere race to sign up for the coveted Soccer Moms Club.
I am a card-carrying member of the Club. I am involved in every game, every action photo, and every load of dirty laundry that results from a scored goal or great save. I didn’t realize before, however, just what it means to soccer-fice your life. This is what happens when you feel as though you have spent endless amounts of time on the sidelines. When you arrive an hour early for every game, stay a half hour late, and attend two or three tournaments all on one Saturday. When you know every team member by their number alone and drive to remote locations where you spend 45 minutes searching for oddly-located fields. And when you use dinner time to discuss plays and stock up every week on water bottles, oranges, protein bars, and new shin guards.
As you might be able to tell, I’ve spent a lot of time traveling with my kids for soccer games recently. And nothing compares to being a Soccer Mom. All of that time on the sidelines truly allows us to celebrate our kids and cheer them on - and we all know how much it means to them to have us there, whether they’ve had a bad game or just scored the winning goal. But, as any Soccer Mom knows, as much fun as it is, it truly is soccer-ficing. They say sports these days are too time-consuming for kids. If they only knew what it meant for those of us in the Club.