How much half-time advice can an eight year-old take on? What are they capable of comprehending as they grab their drink bottle and jump on another team mate?
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What I tell her is that you can't defend your goal by standing on the far side of your opposition. Our team congregated in our goal box happily, however, the problem was that the opposition were closer to the goal! It went, in order, our goalie, four opposition shirts, six of our shirts.
Obviously, the other team scored, a lot. So, I found myself yelling loudly, “Goalside, Goalside!” I am pretty sure that was useless in their understanding, but I couldn't yell out large sentences.
She ended up on the field telling me to be quiet, and she said that I was embarrassing. Oh dear Lord no, I wasn't turning into one of those parents was I?
So, I removed myself from the sideline and and watched from a distance. And then I saw her place herself goalside of an opponent and run him out the backline to earn a goal kick. She did that four more times. I wondered: perhaps it did sink in?