David Traver, jr. shares his experience at E-Soccer.
E-Soccer has become part of my life for 11 years now, and I have experienced participating as both a player and a coach. While improving my soccer skills, I have most importantly been improving my social, team building, and leadership skills. These skills have followed me off the field and into my everyday life, and ultimately are summarized in these five life lessons.
1. Assists Are Just As Important As Goals
The first lesson I learned at E-Soccer while just 6 years old was to help others. At first, I was focused on personally scoring a goal during scrimmage. However, I eventually realized through numerous weeks that helping others is just as rewarding. I have currently found coaching to be equally rewarding as when I passed the ball as a player. In both situations, someone else’s face lit up every time, and that was the moment I knew my assist was like a goal.
2. Falling Is Okay, Just Get Back Up
I’m not sure why, but kids fall quite often in practice. Perhaps it is a bump in the ground, or maybe they stepped on a lace. Nonetheless, they always get back up and keep on playing and are not afraid to make mistakes. This inspired me to become creative in my coaching of new drills and exercises. Some drills and games were much too complicated for the young aged group, however others were simple and fun. The kids loved the new games, and in turn I was excited to see them enjoy my idea. It is scary to go against the possibility of failure, but the reward is worth the mistakes.
3. Don’t Walk Off The Field With Regret
Finally, as a coach I found that kids are not the best behaved. Sometimes they played dirty or, like me several years ago, made a scene because they did not get something. When such instances came up, I had to gather the courage to pull the child aside, bring them to their parents, and have talk about their behavior. Although the idea of talking to parents first scared me to death, I learned to gather courage and talk to them. At the end of every practice, I now strive to leave everything on the field. See a child misbehaving? Point it out with the parents. See a coach not giving their all? Have a chat during water break. Feel the energy die down? Get everyone pumped up again. At the end of the day, I want to make sure I contribute in every way to make the kid’s experience at E-Soccer an awesome one.
