Isaac has been playing soccer since he was four years old. He started in Bexley Rec because I’ve always thought soccer was a cool sport and wanted my kids to be a part of it. So as a four-year-old, he started playing and had a blast. We would take our little boy to Jeffrey Mansion fields and watch him run up and down with a big smile on his face kicking that ball wherever he wanted.
He also played at his school where he had more fun. He had the same coach for many years, who was perfect for him as a young kid. He was gentle and a great guide who loved soccer like only some coaches can. I think he coached at least three teams at the same time and his sons played on all the teams and were so good, it was incredible to watch them. When Covid happened, I was looking for something for Isaac to do. One of my students invited me to watch his indoor soccer game and guess who the coach was? So, I asked him if Isaac could play and he said he was starting another indoor team and Isaac could join that one. He had a great time on that team as defense. It was fun to watch him play from the balcony looking down onto the green turf.
At home, we would play soccer in the front yard because there wasn’t a fence. Our next door neighbor was gracious enough to let us run across her front yard a million times and use her lamp post as a goal. The tree in our yard was the other goal. Our teams would be Isaac as one team and Joey, Josie and I on the other and Isaac would beat us every time. He was so fast. He’s always had a ton of energy. I used to have him and Joey go in the basement and run around the pool table 20 times to get out their energy when they were little or outside from the tree to the lamppost 10 times. In the house, Isaac always had a soccer ball that he kicked around the house and in the back yard. I bought him two goal nets to practice with and when those broke, he would kick the ball at the swing set, especially if his sister was swinging.
This past summer was his first experience with high school soccer. It was definitely an adjustment for him. It was more competitive and upper classmen were playing on the JV team, so he didn’t get a ton of playing time. He’s also doing club soccer in the off season, so we’ve already traveled to one tournament in Dayton. It’s been fun to watch my son through the years in a sport. I hope he will always see this sport as something fun and exciting because that’s what it’s all about.
