Soccer mom for a week

David went to soccer camp last week. He was so excited about it.

David has never played soccer before. And, to be honest, neither have I. Seriously. Never. Not even in P.E. (I know, what kind of childhood did I have?)

Fortunately, before Greg left, we took a family trip to Dick's for shin guards and such. Unfortunately, Greg was not here the morning of the first day of soccer camp, so I was left to my own devices when it came to getting David outfitted. How complicated can putting a pair of shin guards on your kid be? Too complicated for me, I guess, because I had no clue what to do with THOSE SOCKS THAT WENT UP TO HIS EARS. Did they go under the shin guards? Or over? And why were they five feet long? I considered texting Deanna an S.O.S. in the middle of her family reunion camp out, but it think it was pride that prevented me. I may not have played soccer, but I have a brain, right? I finally figured it out (I think) and subsequently sent David off to his first experience with organized sports. (With my heart full of gratitude that this wasn't something with as much gear as ice hockey--where, under my supervision, he undoubtedly would have shown up with knee pads on his elbows and a helmet on his butt.)

On the very first day David got to play goalie (#10):

He was very excited about being goalie. When I asked him about it after camp, he said, "Yeah, I love being the goalie. I put the ball in the net over and over."

I knew enough about soccer to have responded, "Well, I think the goalie STOPS the ball from going into net."

David: "Why would the goalie do that?"

Uh-oh.

He also explained to me that when he was goalie, he used a special camera to search the field looking for injured kids. Here he is with his "camera":

(And I thought he was watching the ball.)

Here is an "action shot."

It's the only one I got. And, to be perfectly honest, I think this is actually a picture of David playing "Superman tag," which they did for a warm-up every morning. (At the end of the week, I asked David what he had learned at soccer camp. He said, "How to play Superman tag." That's okay because Superman tag is probably more important socially for 4-year-olds than soccer.)

On our way to camp on the final day, David informed me that he was going to tell his coaches that he is going to be a baseball player when he grows up. Concerned that this might not exactly endear him to his coaches, I suggested that he tell them he wants to be SOCCER player when he grows up.

And with that "duh, Mom" look on his face, he responded, "Mom, I want to be a baseball player when I GROW UP. I already AM a soccer player NOW."

Or something like that.