Teachable Moment- You Bet

Yesterday during a soccer game that moved so sluggishly it was like watching it in slow motion , my 5 -year old was hit in the face with a soccer ball. Yes- Imagine that...kicked in the face with a soccer ball during a soccer game. OMG. How in the heck could that happen?

The kid who was supposed to be THROWING it in...THROWING ...decided to KICK IT.

My son who was supposed to be WATCHING the ball, was looking at his shoes- the same way he does when he runs but this time he looked up-BAM !- in time to catch(STOP) the ball with his face.
A gasp seeped from the mom behind me just as it happened. I sat there..knowing that a rubber #3 soccer ball is no match for my kid's skull, the hardest bone in the human body. I also know that my own skull has stopped a variety of objects incuding drywall, human fist and a variety of sports equipment- and I'm fine- I said I'm farn.

The coach ran over to my son quickly glancing at me-as I sat there, my son glanced at me as I sat there, the mom looked as I sat there-

LET ME BE CLEAR- Before I take the field, or open my yap to interfere with play regarding my kids a few things have to be considered:

1) Are they still standing ?

2) Do they still have all their limbs ?

3) Are they bleeding- and from where ?

4) Were they intentionally ambushed by enemy forces or another coach ?

5) Are they screaming my name ?


The coach said- "He got hit in the face with the ball, "

I replied " I saw that"



I wave my son over with a "Come here buddy"



He walked over to my chair where I hugged him. "How did that feel?" I asked.



" It hurt" he whimpered.



"How bad ?" I asked.



"Not that bad" he said.



"Good News !" I said



"Why?" he pondered and began to smile through tears-



"Because" I said " Now you know how it feels when the ball hits your face so you don't have to be afraid of it. NOW you can use your face to stop the ball whenever you want although I would use your body or feet first and your hands if you're the goalie."

I then told him his nose was still there and run back onto the field as fast as he can after I finished his hug- he IS 5.

The entire thing took 60 seconds and I never even had to leave my foldable chair.



By the way...he ran back onto the field looking at his feet the entire time.

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