Confessions of a Soccer Mom

Being a 'soccer mom' is not 'dull' as some people will have you perceive. It is usually the people who do not like sport in general or do not understand the game of soccer, or football as they call it in Europe who have those thoughts.

Week in and week out I found myself running up and down the sidelines like a soccer coach barking out tactics and frowning upon opposing team players tackling my son to the ground, but alas this is soccer.

The extra chore between cleaning the house, making dinner and running to the store among other things was the dirty soccer kit in the laundry basket. Sometimes it was so dirty from playing soccer on a waterlogged pitch, I had to literally near shrink his kit in a hot wash.

The shouts of, "come on Oracle FC" still echo through my head often. Oracle Football Club was the soccer team he played for on a regular basis. This club and his school soccer team were twice or three times weekly jaunts for us as 'soccer mom and son.'

My son is now looking for a bigger team to play for over in England, hopefully the like of Manchester United or his home town team of Bolton Wanderers will be his next step. As we look to hopefully find him a place at one of the English Premier League's Club Academy's.

Hopefully our other children will follow his lead and play soccer when they are a little older.

Although soccer is not the big focus for all members of our family, I am the one who is accused of being the 'soccer mom' even though I am actually a soccer dad. I thought you would find that funny, but I can explain the 'off side' rule in soccer which is an advantage.