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Every Day is Precious: A kick in the right place
By ROB PAYNE
For Williamson A.M.
I heard a comic on TV say some disparaging remarks about soccer moms and I once heard a client deride a co-worker about moving to Franklin and becoming a ''suburban soccer mom.'' There are much worse things to be.
As unmanly as this sounds, I'm not really much of a sports fan. I played Little League baseball and dreaded having a ball hit to me and, worse, being up to bat. I played neighborhood football and basketball and remember jamming fingers and thumbs more often than scoring points. I have watched sports on TV and know the rules for football, baseball and basketball. We have been to professional sporting events when someone can't use their season tickets and we can get in free.
It's not that I don't like sports, it's just that I generally find other forms of entertainment more entertaining except when one of my children is in the game.
My 24-year-old son Troy played soccer when he was 6. Our 14-year-old son Matthew played soccer for a few seasons before he found the joy and pain of in-line skating. Right now our 9-year-old daughter Darcy plays soccer.
Soccer wasn't that popular at least in the United States when I was 9 but I've played in a couple of father-daughter games with Darcy. My sports skills have improved greatly at least when I'm playing against 8- and 9-year-old girls but I still don't know the game. What's up with this ''offsides'' rule? Why can't a player take the ball all the way to the goal even if there are no defensive players on that side of the field? Make the defense pay if they leave their goalie unprotected.
But soccer has always given our kids good exposure to kids outside of school and the neighborhood. It gives a sense of individual accomplishment: Darcy counted the trophies in her room again last night. And, like other team sports, it has given our children an understanding of how to work in a group and have team spirit.
So we like the game. And Darcy has played for four or five seasons, both spring and fall, with the same team, and almost the same group of girls. But since Marcy's diagnosis, Marcy and I have been able to participate less and less in the sport with Darcy. We haven't been able to go to many of Darcy's games, practices, or parties the last couple of years. Her friends have given her rides to and from almost all events.
Even when I went, I was never great at keeping up with the other parents' names. I always know them as Courtney's Dad or Paige's Mom. But even that has gotten worse as we have seen them less. That's why we were surprised when Marcy got a ''Get Well'' card a few weeks after the end of last season. It was signed by all the soccer moms and soccer dads along with well wishes and promised prayer. Also with the greeting card were gift cards to Target and Wal-Mart along with cash. The emotional, spiritual, and financial support couldn't have come at a better time.
Tomorrow the Tennessee Titans may move closer to the Super Bowl, but they can't hold a candle to Darcy's team. These soccer moms and dads demonstrate for their children a spirit that goes beyond the team and way beyond sports.
If you know a family in need and you belong to a team of any kind, consider rallying teammates to help. Even if the needy family isn't part of your team, you can give them just the kick they need to stay in the game.
Every Day Is Precious is a column to remind us to treat everyone we see today as if it could be the last time we see them. It is written by Rob Payne, whose wife, Marcy, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in August 2000. For more ways to help others, to find more about Marcy, or to receive e-mail updates on her condition, visit www.EveryDayIsPrecious.com. If you have helped someone without being asked, or know of someone who has, share it with others. Send to rob@everydayisprecious.com or to Every Day Is Precious, 2051 Harvington Drive, Franklin, TN 37069.
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