Finding Encouragement By Asking For It

One tantrum in net – refusing to guard the ball, one ball hog – trying to get the ball from his own team mate, two in the corner (on the same team) wrestling, one running triumphantly the wrong way, and one gently excusing himself off the field.
Welcome to age 5 soccer folks, welcome to life.

spencer soccer

We are either wrestling, angry, blindly running (recklessly in the wrong direction), or just passively giving up on the game. But if you’re anything like my son do this…… run full charge down the field, turn to your loved ones and yell “Now you can cheer!” 

My son was adamant,  that if I came to soccer, it was my responsibility to cheer for him, loudly! He didn’t score, he didn’t save a ball, he barely got contact, but he got cheered for, boy did he get cheered for!

He came off that field a champ people, because I cheered so!

You see, age 5 soccer is about being cheered for, way more than it is about the game, and do you know what I learnt from this cold windy game? I learnt that its okay for us to run down the field with zero skill yelling “cheer for me!”

I have such an easy time expressing my annoyances, and bad days with friends or family, but I have such a hard time celebrating my successes and anticipations. I feel embarrassed, I feel prideful, and I risk rejection. It feels awkward, even if I’m bursting with excitement and want to yell Cheer for me!  – I can’t because it’s not socially acceptable.

The hardest part about being an adult is finding a cheer section who aren’t trying to fix you, aren’t trying to compete, or aren’t trying to make your win their win. We players are funny that way.

I think that we need to learn to…

  • #1 cheer for ourselves more
  • #2 cheer for others more
  • #3 ask others to cheer you on!

It takes a balance of people in our lives who keep us humble, and those who celebrate with us, but God fits that role perfectly, doesn’t He?!

I am learning to be a better cheerleader for my kids, my husband, my friends and family, and for myself. It’s hard to remember that it’s not my job to fix the people in my life, to critique them, or preach at them, it’s just my job to scream…

“RUN!!!!! YOU’RE DOING AWESOME! KEEP GOING! YOU CAN DO IT! OOOOOO SOOO CLOSE! GET EM’! NICE ONE!!!!!!!! WATCH THE BALL!!!THERE YOU GO!!!!WOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!

Kids playing football game, young child hitting soccer ball in parkWe are actually all on the same team, all learning the same moves, some are better than us, some are faster, and some quit without trying, but at the end of the day, no matter how well we have played, we need cheerleaders, cheering us on, because of who we are, not what we’ve done.

So don’t be afraid to ask for some cheers, just like my 5-year-old soccer pro did, we need that in our lives, and it’s good!

One thought on “Finding Encouragement By Asking For It”

  1. Arthur clemens says:

    I have not been receiving your blogs. Please sign me up again! They are inspiring!

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