To cold for Soccer

How can it be to cold for Soccer. My 6yrd old son played soccer for the first time in a month yesterday. We played inside in a gym at Scott Creek Middle School. I still do not understand why in Vancouver and the surrounding area we play soccer in the winter months. My kids have played for 6 years and every year they have been interupted by snow. Normally my son plays on a artificial turf, supposedly it is and all weather field. Appantly it is not when there is snow on it. We were forced inside not becasue our field was covered in snow but because all the other fields are covered in snow. Our league allowed the older kids and play on our field and moved us inside. Maybe if the sport was played in the spring and summer we would not be snowede in. Last year when the city of Coquitlam and my local soccer club I was told fields are available in the spring. Last year I took anumber of pictures aff vacant fileds in the city of coquitlam. Here are some of them.

Soccer should be played when the sun is shining not when the snow falls!

Another season of chaos!

It is the beginning of fall heading into winter. In Vancouver that means the start of the hockey season and the soccer season. As a parent of two young active boys that also is the start of what I call the “chaos season”. I have volunteered to coach my older son’s hockey team. I am also the assistant coach for my younger son’s soccer team. What does this mean it means soccer on Monday, hockey on Thursday and Friday, soccer on Saturday and hockey again on Sunday? Yes the season of running around getting your kids to all there activities can be stress full. The other day someone asked me at the rink if I coach other sports. I told them yes I also coach soccer and baseball. Then they asked if I liked coaching. I did not hesitate to say that I love it. Some days I think why am I doing this it is stress full, to make sure you are prepared for the practices and games. Then when you are there and you see all the kids having fun and the enjoyment that they get form the sports is all you need to see to understand why I enjoy it. I love watching my own child but I also like teaching all the kids the fundamentals of the sports. It is an amazing thing when they grasp a concept you are trying to teach them. It is like the light bulb just went off in their head.
Life is meant to be enjoyed. We may live to be 80 or 90 years old yet that is still short period of time in the whole history of the world. Make life all you can make it while you are here. Life is short!

TAD

Fearles No More!!

The summer bike riding season has started in the lower mainland. It is about time. After a very soaked spring time the sun is shining and my kids want to ride their bikes as often as they can. We recently went to the local park to ride our bikes. We rode along the paths to the park. We have done this before but this year it was different. My youngest who is now five was more hesitant about the hills, the turning and whether his older brother was going to get out of his way. I thought this could be a long ride home. We rode around the park and came to the skate board park. This is what they wanted to go to the park for. We want to ride on the skate board park dad. When we arrived my older son rode into the middle and started going up and down the hills. My younger son who rode the hills at this park when his bike had training wheels sat on the side staring at the park. He finally ventured over to a hill and tried to go up. He was unable to make it up and almost fell of his bike as it rolled backwards down the hill. He called for me as he started to cry that it was too hard to get up the hill. I reminded him that he had done this on his smaller bike with his training wheels. He looked at me like I was not telling him the truth. This was the beginning of fear in his life. Up until this point my youngest son has been fearless about everything he does, like riding his bike with his feet up on the handle bars. Jumping over dad when I am lying on the floor, expecting me to catch him even if I am not looking. Those days are now behind us. His is no longer fearless. After the skate board park we went over to the BMX dirt track. Again my older son took off around the track going over the bumps. My youngest stood there waiting for the right moment to participate. When he finally decided to go I had to run around the path right beside him to make sure he did not fall. Let me tell you it is not easy running over bumps while holding the seat of your child’s bike seat. After the first lap he was okay to go by himself, until he fell. Then it was come with me again dad.
I was not prepared for the fear factor to set in this year especially when it comes to my youngest son riding his bike. He has been so confident about riding his bike before I thought this may never happen. I guess at some point we all develop fear. I wonder where it comes from especially when it was not there before. It is going to be a long summer of bike riding.

TAD

How does that Work Dad?

Every year since we have had kids my wife and I attend a local fair in Port Moody BC called Golden Spike Days. http://www.goldenspikedays.bc.ca/ This is a festival around the Canada Day holiday. Every small community has a festival like this at some time of the year. Our kids love going there to go on the rides and see the musical entertainment. The past few years Golden Spike Days has had some BMX stunt bike riders performing. This is the first year we actually sat through the entire performance. I envision my youngest son watching these guys on there bikes and thinking that will be me one day. He loves riding his bike and is pretty crazy about it. My older son is mechanically inclined. He takes after his dad in the respect that my favorite question growing up was why. I was always asking my parents why after they told me something. If they did not have the answer to my question I would seek out the answer my self. My oldest son’s favorite question is how? How does that work dad? How do they do that dad? For someone like me who is not mechanically inclined this makes life difficult sometimes.

We were watching the bike riders and having a good time. I look at my kids and they were amazed at what these guys were doing on their bikes. A few minutes later my oldest son tapped me on the shoulder. Here it comes, the question that I do not have the answer to. Dad how come when they spin their handle bars their brake cables do not get tangled? Every time my son asks me questions like this I am amazed. We are watching guys ride bikes with no hands, popping, wheelies, jumping over people lying on the ground and my son needs to know how something functions. I turn and look at the bike and for the next ten minutes as they ride past us, trying to figure out an answer to satisfy his curiosity. I believe I can see why they do not get tangled. I point this out to him so he can look closer at the bike when it comes by. At the end of the show we walk closer to the bike to see if what I said was correct. It appears to have satisfied my son’s curiosity. I find this the incredible part of being a parent. Let your kids develop the skills they have instead of trying to develop them for you. My son loves to understand how things work. We build things together in the garage. He has his own tool box. We attend the local wood working show which displays all the cool power tools. He watches shows on how things are made, construction shows and decorating shows. Real parenting is done when you explore their interests not yours.

TAD

Fun is the Goal!

I have had my kids participate in sports for four years now. My oldest started playing soccer at the age of three. We have since played baseball and hockey. I have volunteered to help coach at these early levels. I enjoy being a part of their lives in this manner. As our kids get older I talk to other parents who have older kids participating in sports as well. I am finding it interesting about the level of commitment we ask of our kids. Why do we have our kids participate in sports? I personally have them playing sports for two reasons exercise and socialization. Sports helps keep them physically active while enjoying something they like to do. Sport also helps them learn to be more social and work within a group of people.
I am getting nervous as my kids get older and more skilled at playing sports. Are they going to tryout for the rep. team? What does that mean? Many parents have told me that that means they have to commit to being at every game. If you’re going to take vacation then you might not make the team. This sounds silly to me. I understand that you as a team want to have all the players show up for the game. I remember growing up the soccer league in my home town would select a rep team and identify a number of kids, who did not make the team whom they would call upon if they needed to fill a roster spot for one or two games. This would be like the Canucks calling someone up from the minors. Maybe this way the leagues might get more of the better players trying to make and commit to the team. Then they would also get a chance to see other players perform at this level as well.
When I coach the kids at every practice I ask them what is the most important thing about playing sports? I tell them it is a three letter word that starts with FUN. If your kids are not having fun playing sports take them out now.

Inmates running the asylum!!

What are parents thinking when they do this. My son is playing hockey on a spring hockey team. We joined because one of his best friends is on the team. There is one other kid form his winter hockey team on the team. We do not really know any of the other kids on the team. As luck would have it we missed the first practice had have missed two of the first three games. This week we received an email from one of the parents on the team saying their son was having a birthday party and he is inviting the entire hockey team. I find this silly. We do not know this kid. Why would you invite us and everyone else to the party? I really think that parents need to take more control of their children. The parents need to take responsibility for this child and say you can have a birthday party but you can only have x amount of people attend. Then have the child choose the friends that he wants to have at the party. This is not the first time we have been invited to a party like this. I am sure many of you have had the school class party. This is where everyone in the class is invited because they all go to class together. We have regular discussion with our children about school and what they do their on regular basis. This gives us the chance to know which kids they like to play with on a regular basis.
Stop inviting everyone to the party simply because there is a loose association to your child through the sport or school. It is annoying.
Tad

Holiday Simple

As parents we want the best for our kids. Our kids on the other hand just want to have fun. Maybe we should listen to them more often then we do. I have just returned from a week holiday in California. We took the kids to Disney land and San Diego. We all had a great time. Two things stood out for me about the vacation. For the past four years we have vacationed in Kelowna at Lake Side resort that has a pool, beach, playground and fishing dock. These activities keep the kids busy and entertained for an entire week. My wife and I have often joked that it would not matter were this resort was as long as it had these amenities the kids would have a good time. Our plans this year were to go to Disney land. The kids were excited about this and wanted to go. I am not sure they if they knew what to expect.
We arrived late on the Saturday night. We had tickets to see a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game on the Sunday. Then we were going to spend the next three days at Disney land. On the Sunday morning we ventured to the back of the hotel to investigate the two swimming pools. The kids were excited that the hotel had not one but two pools. We spent the afternoon at the baseball game. Then we decided to leave after the 7th inning. I suggested we head over to see the Santa Monica Pier. I wanted the kids to see the ocean and that pier is very interesting with the rides on it. My five year old started to cry extensively. He wanted to return to the hotel to go swimming in the pool. We tried to tell him he would have fun at the beach but all he wanted was to go to the pool. We did not give in to his crying fit and took them to the beach. Both kids even the five year old had a great time running in and out of the waves at the beach. One run into the water and the thoughts of the pool were gone, for now. When we returned to the hotel we did venture down to the pool for a quick swim.
After three days in Disney land we headed off to San Diego for the second part of our trip. We started this travel day with a swim in the hotel pool before we checked out. We stopped for lunch in a sea side town called Oceanside. Here the kids had the chance to swim in the ocean again. When we arrived in San Diego the kids were happy to see that the hotel there also had a pool. We settled into our room and spent an hour at the pool before bed time. Again the kids were happiest with this arrangement. For the next three days the kids repeatedly asked for more pool time. This makes me wonder why we spend so much money traveling to see Disney land, Sea World and other attractions when the most fun they have is in the swimming pool or at the beach. The kids do really have it correct. They enjoy the simple things in life to their fullest. Adults should take a lesson from the kids about their own lives. Find the things you like best and take the opportunity to enjoy them when you get the opportunity.


TAD