Friends and family have been nudging me for a while now to start a blog covering soccer related topics from a parent’s perspective and I’m finally ready to give it a try. I have a passion for the game having played and watched it practically all my life, first in Germany, then England, and then most recently here in the U.S. And, just as important, my two girls and one boy (9, 11, and 13 as of 2015) are very active in their competitive soccer programs here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I volunteer in our soccer community in various ways, helped build new soccer programs at established clubs, and ‘coach’ a couple of Futsal teams during the winter months. And, as a certified official U.S. Soccer referee, I officiate competitive soccer games for boys and girls from ages 8 to 18. I still play in adult leagues here, but I’m finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with younger adult players. And my body often can’t do anymore what my brain wants it to do, but such is life. I tell myself that I’m compensating for lack of speed and energy through smarter play. Don’t burst my bubble please.
I’ve experienced countless competitive youth soccer games as a parent on the sidelines and as a referee in the middle of the field, observed many coaches up-close during practices and games, and know most of the clubs reasonably well. So youth soccer development is high on my list of interests and I hope my perspectives are useful for other soccer parents out there.
I will share the good, the bad, and the ugly, but please keep in mind that these are just my perspectives, of course. They might evolve over time or might be plain wrong or misguided or based on incomplete information. But I hope this blog nevertheless provides some food for thought for other soccer parents out there.
NorCal Soccer Dad 