Made By Sheer Determination

Did I ever tell you my daughter Sneezy plays soccer? I know we’ve discussed basketball and softball, but all truth be told, soccer is her game. It’s the sport that makes her smile even as she tapes her blisters, dresses turf burn, and ices deep purple bruises.

This year she’s heading into high school as a sophomore (our HS here starts with sophomores, and freshmen attend the junior high—but don’t get me started on that) and decided she wanted to try out for the JV/ varsity soccer team.

At the beginning of June, Sneezy had a large tumor (non cancerous, yay!) removed from her neck. The surgery resulted in tendon and nerve damage in her neck and face that has left portions of those areas either in pain or completely numb. As a result, Sneezy has a tough time fully rotating her shoulder (a bad deal for a keeper/goalie), and occasionally when she runs, the insides of her neck throb like they’re going to "fall out".

Within a week of her surgery, summer conditioning started. Five days a week from 8-10:00 am, players proved their dedication by showing up and working their butts off in preparation for the soccer season. Sneezy missed almost a month, and worried about falling behind. Still, she determined she had to try.

So as soon as she could, Sneezy got up early every summer morning and went to conditioning, worked extra hard, then came home and spent the rest of the day with Ice packs taped to her shoulder and neck until she stopped needing the ice, and stopped needing the painkillers, and started to catch up.

Last week was try out week, which meant two hours in the mornings and two in the afternoons, of very seriously difficult work. At the end of each day, the coaches made cuts, and only those who made it through were invited back the next day.

Monday: Sneezy didn’t get cut. But one of her best friends (who is a phenomenal player) did.

Tuesday: Sneezy didn’t get cut. But another of her best friends did.

Wednesday: Most of Sneezy’s friends got cut. But Sneezy was invited back.

Thursday: Sneezy made the team and was given not just one, but two playing positions, ensuring her playing time as both JV and Varsity.

Friday: To celebrate, the team ran five miles around the city before starting their regular workout routine. But Sneezy got both her keeper jersey, and her forward one.

Sneezy still has pain and numbness. And she’s so sad her best friends got cut. But she has dedicated herself to working hard, moving up, doing her best to be the best soccer player she can be, despite any obstacles or challenges that come her way.

We’d all do well to learn a lesson from my fifteen-year-old Sneezy. I certainly have.

**All you Utahns, don't forget to stop by the big event and say hi!

Prejudice? Who Are You Really?

If this post is live, then it's official. I'm out of town with my daughter's soccer team and didn't have time (or Internet connection) to schedule my blog posts for the week. It's entirely possible that I'm soaking in rays of sun while the rest of you are dealing with winter weather. It's also entirely possible that I'm freezing my tail off watching soccer in the rain. Depends on Mother Nature's mood, I suppose.

*crosses fingers and pays homage to the sun goddesses* Pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease!

But rather than leave you all hanging (since I know you live and die by my every post--not) I'm going to leave you with a question, which you may feel free to answer and discuss. (I will join in as possible--probably when I get home.)

For the sake of plotting (or not, if you want) let's talk about prejudices of a personal nature. What kind of preconceived prejudices have you (or someone you know) experienced and how did you overcome the long term effects of this not-so-accurate portrayal of what others think of you, in juxtaposition to who you really are?

*swirls fingers in a circle* Discuss. Enjoy. Contemplate.

More Socks Wisdom: Teamwork

When I was young, I thought that the primary job of a parent was to teach your children. What I didn’t realize was that the job is something of a fifty-fifty deal. For everything I try to teach my kids, they turn around and teach me something back. Not on purpose, but that’s pretty much how it works for us.

So, Happy and Sneezy are on this indoor soccer team, Who Stole the Socks. And the first thing the team taught me is how important it is to play for fun first, and competition last. (Confused? See this blog.) I think that’s a big lesson for some adults, including me. Adults sometimes forget that life is supposed to be fun.

Anyway, by the end of their first indoor soccer season, these girls had learned to play together. Not only that, they’d figured out how to play strategically. And their coach, now that he was getting to know each girl, had a pretty good idea of their strengths and weaknesses, and how to use them to the best advantage.

As life goes, no two girls have the same skills, so as they continued playing together, each girl's individual, raw talent became evident, and the coach started playing certain pairs together depending on the skills of the opposing team. Individually, each player was strong. But together, the team dominated the field.

They helped each other, they learned from each other, they cried when someone got hurt, and they cheered when one of them scored. And always, always, win or lose, they kept the solid rule of cartwheels on the field when the game was over. They’ve been the epitome of good sportswomen.

The second thing the Socks taught me is why it’s important to be part of a team.

However solitary a work writing can be, I would never be where I am without my team. My writing friends help me when I have a question, teach me when I need to learn, cry with me when I get rejected, and get excited when I have good news. And always, always, win or lose, someone always reminds me to do a cartwheel on the field at the end of the day.

I’m playing the game because I love it, and learning as I go. And one of these days, when I score a winning goal, my team will be there to cheer me on. Just as I will be there for them.

Thanks for being part of my team.