Fall soccer has really started (like soccer practice at the beach this summer wasn’t real?) for my U8 (under 8 years old) son’s traveling soccer team here at the Jersey shore. I’m going to write today from a personal prospective, a little change-up from my regular posts.

This is my first and only child so every new thing is a big thing for me. A friend of his was going to tryouts in a neighboring town and his mom asked if my son would like to tryout as well. The goal was for both boys to make it and be on the same team.

After the first night of tryouts it was discovered that my son’s friend would actually have to tryout in the next level up because of his birth date. My son continued on in his age group and, while not being as skilled as his current teammates, the coach saw something in his play that he thought he could mold into a better player.

So now my kid has made the team. The summer wasn’t too bad: weekly practices at the beach with a couple of scrimmages against neighboring teams thrown in for game tune up. Now that the season has started we have evening practices twice a week and a game every Saturday afternoon.

The evening practices this time of year are the killers for the parents. I started off in sunglasses (prescription so I could see!) last night and felt a little foolish when the field lights started coming on. The dew point is a lot earlier this time of year too so while I’m sitting in my lawn chair the grass at my feet is getting wetter and wetter and the dampness in the air is going right through my bones. I had a windbreaker with me but as luck would have it, they don’t cover your hands! I got in my car after practice and put the heat directly on my stiff little paws.

Now, being a soccer parent or a parent of any child involved in a competitive league, can be a trying experience. For me more so because we live in a different town from most of his teammates and they have been playing in the local recreational league for a few years already. They know each other and so do the parents. I am no social butterfly so trying to fit in has had its moments. My son also just wants to be a part of the gang and has expressed his feelings after some practices. He can get along with just about anybody so I’m not worried.

The call (email actually) went out from his coach that volunteers would be needed during the season. One of the positions mentioned was team mom. I’m always at the practices and the games so, without realizing what I was getting into, I threw my name into the ring to be team mom. Well, now I’m scared. It’s my job to come up with a fund raising idea (I am an older mom who never had to organize fund raising before due to lack of children) and to sign people up to work a few hours one weekend at the concession stand.

Coach took pity on me the other night and asked one of the “more experienced” moms to lend me a hand. Only time will tell how that goes. Please someone, next time I think about opening my mouth turn me around and send me packing! Truth though is that I’m doing this for my son, so that even if he feels odd man out he can still say his mom stepped up to the plate (soccer pitch?) and was a part of this team.

Does anybody out there in soccer mom land have any tips or tricks they could help me out with? I know I will eventually grow into this role but right now I could use some advice.

Thanks for letting me share a part of my personal life with you today.