soccer for the little set

I got to watch Boo and Skibo play in a soccer "match" today: their team, the Green Hippos were playing the orange team (as an aside, the green team chose their nickname themselves: hippos was unanimous). The first minute or two after warmups consisted of the coaches reminding each team which direction was the goal they were trying to get the ball in, and which direction was the wrong way. And they they were off. Or not. Or yet they were --- or not. Stop start play, four for each side on the field at any point: punctuated by the two players who had played last year (and one has an older sister who practices with her as well): when they came on, it was a case of race down field, kick the ball into the goal, tackling ones own side along the way.
The coaches don't seem to have a tremendously good handle on how to cope with the fact that there are two tremendously mis-matched players on the team: and it makes for an upleasant experience for the rest of us.
At one point during warmups the ball-stripping tackler stripped the ball from Boo (at this point they were all supposed to be dribbling and kicking their own balls) and then couldn't understand why Boo was upset at her --- and came and pouted to her parents that that other girl was looking mean eyes at her!

Strangely, the same child's parents were the ones who were screaming their daughter on at every turn: the rest of the parents seemed to be cheering for good plays on both teams parts --- all players on both teams, not just a single child.
That fact in itself spoke volumes to me.

Yours, not built to be a soccer parent,
N.