StethoScoop

This spring I decided not to repeat the mistake of last year’s debacle. Last year I allowed each of my sons to play up to three sports apiece. Well, with four sons playing on average two sports apiece, we had close to eight different sports games each Sunday! Seeing that I work every other Sunday, this became quite a challenge for my husband and me to handle. Although we want to expose our sons to as many types of sports as possible, a situation like last year’s was just not practical.
So, much to my sons’ chagrin I informed them this year that they were to choose one sport – and that sport was to include a ball that is black and white and one which you can’t touch with your hands.
Why soccer you ask? Well, my red-blooded American husband asked the same question. Why not baseball, which they’ve played each and every year so far? Well, I am as much a fan of the American pastime as anyone else but baseball in this pediatrician’s mind just does not cut it from a cardiovascular perspective.
On the other hand, the game of soccer is where it’s at. And guess what? My sons actually did not put up much of a fight and now they are solely playing AYSO games each Sunday with practices during the week, and they could not be happier. They come home red-faced and exhausted but extremely happy. Now, this may not be an option for every family, but for us it works and my sons have not complained since stopping on that diamond field.
Happy Spring!
Elana Comrov MD
aka “Soccer Mama”