Soccer Camp and Soccer Dreams

So, the latest happening is the soccer camp that Rosemarie proposed and then asked me to assist with. I agreed. We host the free camp once a week, Tuesday evenings, for two hours at a park close to our homes and it welcomes junior high students.

She originally was just going to help her younger brother, who is trying out for the junior high soccer team in the fall, but decided to extend the opportunity to other junior high soccer players and with the extension, she brought me in.

Both of us have played for near fifteen years and I've refereed for ten years. But experience aside, the first meeting of our camp was one of the hardest things I've done in a while. I think it's because I know how to play. I know what a defensive stance is and I know how to "go hard" and not commit an obvious foul. But to have to teach that to other people is more difficult than I imagined. I tried to channel an old coach of mine, who I absolutely adored, but even that didn't help too much.

I do have to send a shout out of the junior high coach that assisted us because he did know how to translate what we were trying to teach to the kids. Yay coach.

Overall, it wasn't a failure. For our first coaching attempt, I say we did a grand job, but it definitely demonstrated that just because you know something with every muscle (and all my muscle are still yelling at me today) in your body, it doesn't mean you've got the tools to pass it on to others. We are going to continue to try and hopefully, but the summer's end, we will be experts (I love instant gratification).

Have yourselves a great one.

Pictures: #1 is of BBQ Chicken Quesadillas (yay bad spelling) except these ones lack the BBQ sauce and the chicken. All ya'll out there should totally try these, though. Just get quesadilla shells, shreaded cheese (I like sharp cheddar), chicken (a chicken breast or chicken that you can just heat up in a pan), and your favorite BBQ sauce. Cook the chicken, put everything it the quesadilla, five minutes in a 350 degree over, perfection. #2 is of Gretchen making a funny face at the camera. #3 is Gretchen eating the sour cream for the quesadillas. #4 is a Cicada. Yes, they are still here.