Tiny Tot Soccer

Sylvia had her first organized sports experience this summer...as did Dan and I. We signed her up for Coralville's Tiny Tot Soccer. Her team, the Lizards, was made up of 3 and 4-year-olds with varying degrees of experience and athleticism.

Sylvia was very excited for soccer, and the first week went very well. All of the teams practiced together and each child had his/her own ball...the whole time.
The following weeks, there was a 15 minute practice followed by a 30 minute game. After Sylvia spent much of the first game trying to be on the sidelines with us or standing still in the middle of the field, Dan and I realized that we and her coaches had never explained the whole idea of soccer...or any team sport for that matter. Sylvia was not prepared for the fact that there would only be 1 ball on the field and that all of the boys and girls would be running around after that 1 ball.

Each week she showed some improvement, although she still played around plenty. She was often a little sad that she couldn't get to the ball. Practice before the actual game and playing on the sideline while she was not on the field seemed to be more fun for her than the actual game. He coaches were wonderful and very patient. We were very impressed at how they continued to get her involved when she wasn't so sure about the whole thing.


If you ask Sylvia what her favorite part about soccer was she says, "How about treats?"
We enjoyed getting outside as a family and watching her grow each week. Dan and I definitely learned a lot about Sylvia through this experience. I missed one perfect picture moment of Sylvia adjusting her underwear in the middle of a game. I decided it would be better for me to run out and help her rather than take a picture so that one will just have to be a memory.