Sad to See Soccer Season End

This spring's rec soccer league in Wall Township showed my son (and me) what true comraderie and sportsmanship is all about.

This was Benjamin's third different soccer league/team and I was starting to get a bit jaded, or so I thought.

Then we met Coach J, and realized how great some coaches can be. From the very first team meeting he made a point of learning each child's name, getting to know the parents, and making sure the kids got to know each other's names.

Then, even though the league had set up its own Skillz and Drillz for all the players, Coach J still decided to hold his own practices weekly for our little players. And it all made such a difference -- not just in terms of how well the boys played, but in how they bonded as a team.

And the parents were great as well. There was never a bad game or a bad practice. Win, lose, or tie, we all hung together rooting them on.

So whereas I am usually breathing a sigh of relief when yet another season comes to an end, this time I will actually miss Benjamin's time as a Yellow Striker.

I hope you, too, have had...or WILL have...that one great coach that cares about your kids as much as his own.