The Complete Works of Goldsmith: Soccer: A retrospective

I played a lot of sports when I was a kid--my parents encouraged me to do that, and they really encouraged me to stick with probably my least favorite sport I ever played, which was high school football. I am glad I did stick with it. And I am glad they encouraged me. I played a couple of seasons of basketball, which I remember hating. I have always hated basketball. No sport should be played indoors. If it is too cold to play outside, then you should be reading or playing cribbage. And I played tball and baseball until things got too competitive (i.e. until you had to be GOOD or else you got cut...haha). But the sport that, for whatever reason, I most identify with my parents and my childhood has to be soccer: the sport I sucked at the most.

I think I most identify my parents with soccer because, for me, soccer was the sport which most exemplified the love my parents have for me, because, as most people know, soccer is boring and not fun to watch--ESPECIALLY when there are little kids and DOUBLE especially when your son is the WORST of those little kids. Even as a kid, I was somehow smart enough to know how bad I was at soccer, and I think I innately just KNEW that my parents being at all my early Saturday morning games behind Oliver Ames High School spoke volumes about how supportive they were of me. And that meant a lot. My dad, for one, would come to my games, sometimes with my grandfather, the 'original' Papa Goldsmith. There is a picture somewhere, developed by Osco Drug (remember them?) that shows me in my red ROWDIES team shirt standing next to Papa--my Papa is wearing a maroon Members Only jacket, and he looks absolutely miserable. But he was there. With my dad.

And, years later, when I played high school football at Oliver Ames (and, truth be told, I actually earned a starting position....until I lost it because I was too weak from the cancer I didnt know I had yet), the one thing I could count on, and a very concrete memory I have, was coming out of the locker room, leaving the athletic wing to go outside, and seeing my father's Chevy pickup truck parked straight ahead, reading to take me home. And this was at 530 or so...after my dad sat in mindblowing traffic on the southeast expressway, coming home from work in Boston....and after he dropped me off, he had to drive 15 minutes home to his house. Before I had kids, and before those kids started doing things like this, I never realized what a strong and loving commitment parents--especially my mom and dad--make to their children.

And now it is my turn. And I feel very blessed that it is. True, Callum has taken some swim lessons and he played a season of tee-ball...but it has not been until he started soccer that I, for some reason or another, truly feel like a 'parent watching my kid.' Does this make sense? Callum excels at soccer probably more than any other thing he has done (sport wise). I just love watching him run and be aggressive, even though most people know that I think soccer is a stupid sport. But it is growing on me.

I appreciate all my parents have done for me, nurturing me throughout all my childhood endeavors: soccer, baseball, football, track and field, swimming lessons, camp Maplewood, boy scouts, Baseball Club Card (thanks mom) and more. And now it is my turn, and I know that Amanda and I want to see/be at everything that our kids do. I already know deep inside that this will be my final season coaching XC, since I know I will have to miss a few of Callum's games due to races, and I know that next season Maira will be involved with dance, soccer, and whatever the little devil wants to do. So I am ready for it. One of the reasons I resigned as English Dept chair this year was to have more flexibility after school, and I will do whatever else I can do to be the best parent I can be with what my kids are doing........

Thanks mom and dad.

Callum's first soccer game: He plays for VILLAGE MARKET IGA and today they played HARDING'S GARAGE. Callum scored two goals. Like......legit ones....for the right team!!