My son belongs to a soccer team.  It's not his first year playing.  But it is his first year with this type of soccer league, namely a SELECT soccer team.  For those of you who aren't soccer followers, SELECT soccer is comprised of boys and girls who are hand-picked by coaches based upon talent, attitude, team-player ability, among other things.                             

In the past years,  we've had pretty good luck during the seasons.  Always making it to tournament.  Always making it to State Championship games.  Not any further that that mind you, but still, we all know...it feels real good to be a part of a winning team.  It feels good to see your kid on a winning team.  Making the goal.  Blocking the shots. 

This season, ehhh...not so much.  NO WINS.  In fact, some pretty embarrasing scores.  5-0, 8-0, 17-0.  That's a big ouch if you happen to be on the zero end of things. 

So this past Sunday, after our 6th consecutive loss, the head caoch gets a call.  A player is quitting.  Coach talks to the dad to find out why, and is told "I want my son to play on a winning team".  Next day, a second player quits, stating that "no one on the team is any good and they will NEVER win a game".

Will we ever win a game?  Probably not.  But frankly, I didn't put my son on a team to win.  I put him on because he wanted to play.  And sports CAN be an excellent introduction for kids to many facts of life, such as:

• You might not always like the person you are working for (boss, coach) but you must still be respectful.
• You may not always win.  You may never win, but finish what you start.
• If you promise something (doing a job, showing up for practice), deliver.
• There is no "I" in team.

It really saddens me that the boys who quit our team will maybe never learn these important lessons, because the parents aren't willing to teach them.  This season will probably go down as a loss, but for the boys that hang in there win OR lose, there's no trophy in the world that can compare to the great life lessons they have learned.