My Son Loved Soccer - He Just Wasn't Ready for Soccer Lessons Yet
My older son has always liked soccer.
Not in a "we have a future Messi living in our house" kind of way. 😅 He just genuinely liked kicking a ball around. On weekends, he'd often ask my husband to go outside and play mini soccer with him, and they'd kick the ball back and forth forever.
So naturally, when he was in TK, I thought, Why don't I sign him up for an actual soccer class? He'll love it!
He did NOT love it.
After the very first class, he came home and told me he didn't want to go anymore.
That was pretty much the entire explanation.
"I don't want to."
Okay then. 😂
So We Didn't Push It
Looking back, I can make some guesses as to why he didn't like that first soccer experience.
The class had a pretty wide age range - kids who looked as young as 4 playing alongside kids who were probably 9 or 10. As you can imagine, there was also a huge difference in size, speed, confidence, and soccer skills.
My son was one of the little ones, and knowing his personality, I think the whole thing may have been a little intimidating for him. But that's purely my guess. He never actually told me why.
What I did know was that I didn't want to turn something he naturally enjoyed into something he hated because Mom kept dragging him to soccer practice.
So we left it alone.
He could still kick the ball around with Dad, and if he ever wanted to try lessons again, he could tell us.
And eventually, he did.
This Time, It Was His Idea
After winter break during 1st grade, when he was 6, a couple of his good friends were taking an after-school soccer class through Euro Soccer, the same program I initially signed him up when he was in TK. They kept telling him to join so they could play together.
And let's be real.
At 6 years old, what better motivation is there than:
MY FRIENDS ARE DOING IT.
Suddenly, he came home asking me to sign him up.
Of course I said yes.
From a parent's scheduling perspective, Euro Soccer was ridiculously convenient. The coaches picked the kids up directly from school, walked them to the soccer field next door, and held the class there.
All I had to do was show up an hour later.
Easy Peasy.
The class was once a week and cost $32.50 per session at the time. They did drills and usually finished with a scrimmage, and my son enjoyed it - probably helped by having his friends there.
But after a semester, my husband and I realized we wanted something a little more structured if he was going to actually learn soccer. There was still a broad range of ages and abilities together, and I didn't see much individual coaching for the younger or less experienced kids.
As a convenient after-school activity where he could play soccer with friends? It worked great for us.
But we were ready to try something different.
Finding Ginga
I had heard good things about AYSO and thought that might be our next step.
Then summer happened.
Trips, camps, schedules, life...
And by the time I got around to it, I had missed registration.
Oops.😐
So I started asking other parents about soccer programs, and one name kept coming up: Ginga.
They offered a free trial, so I signed up my older boy - and since my younger one was now 5, I figured, Why not both?
Ginga immediately felt different.
Practices were 1.5 hours and much more structured. The kids started with a warm-up, including 3 laps around the park, then broke into groups of about 7 or 8 based on age, size, and skill level.
They worked on ball control, passing, signaling, drills, and rules of the game, then spent roughly the last 30 minutes scrimmaging.
This was much closer to what I had been looking for.
And my older son loved it.
He ran. He listened. He practiced. He got frustrated. He tried again.
And I stook there thinking...
Who is this child?!
My older son has always been a little cautious about trying new things. If he thinks he might not be good at something, sometimes his solution is simply not to try it.
Problem solved. 😂
So watching him struggle with a skill, get frustrated, and continue trying anyway was a big deal for me.
He wasn't the best player out there.
He knew he wasn't eh best player out there.
And he was still having fun.
I loved seeing that.
Meanwhile... His Little Brother
Surprisingly, my 5-year-old did really well during the trial too.
He got his jersey, followed instructions, ran around, and worked hard for the full 1.5 hours.
I thought, Oh! He's ready too!
So I signed up both boys.
Then came the first real practice.
My younger son ran his 3 warm-up laps, walked straight over to the bench where my husband and I were sitting...
and started crying.
"I don't want to do it....."
And suddenly I had the strangest feeling of déjà vu.
I'd seen this child before.
Except a few years ago, it was his older brother.
And here's the funny thing: this kid LOVE soccer.
He plays soccer at recess all the time. If he has downtime at home, he'll go out to our little patio by himself and kick the ball around until he's literally soaked in sweat. If anything, he might love soccer even more than his brother did at this age.
So I knew this wasn't about him not liking soccer.
My husband wanted to encourage him to go back out and finish practice.
I stopped him.
Because suddenly it felt very familiar.
Maybe he loves soccer. Maybe he'll eventually love learning soccer too.
He's just not ready for the structure, the drills, the 1.5-hour practices, and everything else that comes with an actual soccer program.
And that's okay.
So we pulled him out.
Hopefully he'll come back in a couple of years and ask me to sign him up, just like his brother did.
Until then, I'll let him keep kicking that ball around our patio until he's dripping in sweat - and casually bring up soccer lessons every once in a while to see if the answer has changed. 😂
When I Push My Kids - and When I Don't
I don't know if this qualifies as a parenting philosophy, but I have one pretty simple rule when it comes to activities.
If THEY ask me to learn something, I hold them to it.
If you come to me saying, "Mom, I REALLY want to do this!" and I sign you up, rearrange our schedule, pay for lessons, buy the equipment, and drive you back and forth every week?
You're not quitting after 2 classes because suddenly it's hard. 😂
That's when I push back.
I don't expect them to do it forever. But I do expect them to give it a real chance and get past that uncomfortable beginner stage before deciding it's not for them.
But when I'm the one suggesting the activity, I look at it differently.
I'll encourage them to try it. But if they genuinely give it a chance and tell me, "No, I don't want to do this," especially at 5 or 6, I don't feel right pushing too hard.
I don't know if that's the "right" way to do it.
But with my older son, I think it was the right thing to do for him.
Where We Are Now
My older son is almost 8 now.
We initially signed him up for Ginga once a week and recently added another day, so Tuesday and Thursday evenings are officially soccer evenings in our house.
Ginga currently costs $149 per month for once-a-week training or $249 for twice a week. Another huge plus for us is that practice is at the soccer field right next to school, which makes juggling everything else much easier.
And his soccer skills?
Well...
Let's just say we're not waiting for a team scout to call us yet. 😂
But honestly, I don't care.
He's running around. He's learning the rules. He's figuring out ball control and passing. He's getting frustrated when something doesn't work - and trying again.
For a kid who once didn't want to try something if he thought he might not be good at it, that's enough for me.
And his little brother?
We'll give him some time.
I've learned this lesson once already.
Sometimes "I don't want to" doesn't mean never.
Sometimes it just means not yet.
If you're looking for a good sport activity for your kid, I've also written about our 7-year-old boy's journey on golf and ice hockey. I think my goal at this age is not to grow an all-star athlete, but to provide kids with enough exposure to different things so they can figure out what they're good at, what they really want to do, and what they absolutely don't want to get themselves into. 😂
