Drama, Trama

The only way to describe this picture is the calm before the storm, or better yet, the smiles before the tears. 
Collin's first soccer game was Saturday and it was nothing if it wasn't dramatic.  I knew the actual game would be difficult regardless of how well he did in practice.  We had the advantage of having watched Collin's best buddy, Joseph, during his first soccer season this past spring.  Practices always went off without a hitch and the games, well, the games were full of tears and stomps and hurt feelings.  It all goes back to one of my previous posts; competitive sports go against everything a child is taught from the moment he begins to interact with others.
Needless to say Collin was super excited about this game.  He loved his jersey and thought it was even cooler that Joseph had one exactly the same.  The weather was perfect for a fall game and his grandparents and great-grandmother had come up for the weekend just to watch him play.  He lined up with 3 of teammates, the whistle blew and the ball was taken (by the other team).  This was ok at first, Collin was fine with them having a turn first, but when he got the ball and it was kicked away from him, it was not ok anymore.  The tears rolled and he didn't even want to try to get it back.   So, off to the sidelines for a little pep talk, back in the game and the cycle starts again.  Thus went his 45 minute game.
In his defense, he was not the only child crying on the field.  As a matter of fact I think there were more children who were crying than not crying.  I think it's just going to take some time for him to understand all of the double standards and nuances of "polite society."  It's ok to steal the ball on the field, but not on the playground.  It's ok to run into someone on the field, but not in your classroom.  You should be aggressive on the field, but greatly temper that aggression everywhere else.  And the list goes on, and on.
So, when the Manchester United game came on this afternoon, after the football game, I decided we should watch.  Collin thought it was really cool that they were playing his sport on TV.  I pointed out everytime the ball was "stolen" from someone.  I noted that everyone was trying to get the ball to the goal.  I showed him how no one used his hands.  After a few minutes of taking all of this in he says, "and none of them are crying."  Oh, break my heart.  But I acknowledged that none of them were crying, that they just ran super fast to get the ball back. 
In the end, my little guy did pretty well while he was in there, and I think he will really enjoy it once he gets the hang of it.  Until then every moment is a teaching moment.  Right now he is super excited about next week's game, as long as that "red team" isn't there.