My daughter started playing soccer at the YMCA a few years ago.  It’s been fun watching her develop her skills and fall in love with this beautiful sport. 

It’s also been nice to be a part of a new community of soccer parents.  When you are on a team with good families, you look even more forward to weekday practices and post game lunches.  

Come Saturday morning, I am so ready to watch my daughter on the field.  I admit, I can get a little too enthusiastic during her games (I may have talked to a ref after one game for admittedly making a wrong call and not counting my daughter’s goal).

After her games, I always give her positive feedback.  If she played great, well then it’s easy to relay the positives.  If she didn’t play her best but gave it a great effort, I provide positive feedback and wait until later in the day or Monday to relay what she could work on from that game. If she gave it a half-hearted effort, well that’s tough to watch.  

I’ve seen all three of the above scenarios and I’ve wondered how my behavior and reactions affect her and our relationship as mother and daughter. It’s important for me that she feels comfortable communicating with me as she grows up and feels like our relationship, part of her social sphere, is balanced. 

As an avid sports fan, but never a high-performing athlete, I wonder, am I pushing her too much? Am I motivating her enough? Does she even want to continue playing soccer? I’ve made it a point to observe how other moms behave on the sidelines and truth be told, it’s been entertaining to see the many types of soccer moms out there.  

Do you relate to one or multiple of the soccer mom types below? A part of me can relate to a few of them.  

The Athletic Mom:  She played competitive sports growing up but doesn’t take the game at the YMCA too seriously. She believes her kid is still young and may want to play a different sport soon. This mom sits back in her portable chair, sips her Starbucks, and enjoys watching her kid play.

The Goodie Bag Mom: This mom is the team’s social coordinator. She brings the best snacks and plans moms nights out for the moms on the team. Naturally, she has a Cricut to personalize team t-shirts, jerseys, head bands, etc. 

The Oblivious Mom:  You rarely see her and when you do, she keeps to herself, busy on her phone.  You’re not the only one who has asked which one her kid is.  

The Know It All Mom:  This mom wishes she was in the lineup. She never played competitive soccer but learned the game playing intramural in college and watching the World Cup every four years.  When the team is down at halftime, she’s vying for the coach’s job.

The Neighborhood Gossip Mom: She knows all the gossip about the parents on the team.  Hanging out with other soccer moms is her social time! She’s missed several of her kids’ integral plays but all for the sake of a good story to tell. 

The “My Kid Is…” Mom: This mom thinks her kid is the next coming of Messi. Her kid is the best on the field and no one comes close.  She lets it be known that her kid is the sole reason the team is on a winning streak.  

The Overcommitted Mom: She has two kids playing at the same time on different fields.  As soon as these games are over, she’s headed to take her other kids to their baseball games.  She makes it to the moms nights out but is always running late. She is committed as she is overcommitted. 

Soccer MOMster: Losing is not an option. She doesn’t believe her child will make the middle school team if she isn’t always on her A game.  This mom paces the sidelines whispering her disappointment about the coach and truth be told, other kids on the field.  She’s currently interviewing club teams. 

No matter which of the above I am, I hope my kid knows that I am the Proud Soccer Mom on the sidelines.  I want the best for her whether that includes soccer in her life or not.  I want her to enjoy her life all while putting in a solid effort and giving her best no matter what she is working towards.  These are the tools I strive to give her to be educationally fit. 

As for keeping her social sphere in balance and having a good relationship with her mom, I want her to know I’m overzealous on Saturday mornings because I’m overzealous about her! 

No matter the type of soccer mom you think you are, I urge you to communicate with your kid and ask them if they enjoy playing the sport they are playing.  I also urge you to sit back and enjoy watching your beautiful human play this beautiful game… because before you know it, you’ve blinked and soccer Saturdays will be a thing of the past.