My son, almost 7, has been playing soccer since he was 4. We didn't have any big interest in soccer, just seemed like an inexpensive introduction to athletics, something to get him active and away from the TV. He was good at 4, but really, that just meant he was a fast runner and followed the ball. We had a lousy coach who didn't show up for half the games. Signed him up next fall, and it was an exact repeat. Fast runner, interested in the game, lousy coach.

We switched to a "real" soccer league that spring, just trying to find a decent coach. Struck out again, so we went to the league office and asked for a good coach this time. Wow!! We sure got what we asked for.

 Our coach is a rare find. He loves soccer, having played it himself for many years. He loves kids, having coached 3 teams for about 10 years. He never, ever yells at the boys, but he has complete control. Just a calm "no more water fights, guys" got them to completely stop forever. Even my hyper, easily distracted little guy pays attention with just an occasional gentle reminder. My son likes him so much that he's even signing up for Chess Club in the fall because it's the same coach, even though it means getting to school an hour early.

We've been on this same team now for 2 seasons and a fun tournament, and they're doing great. This year, I realized that my son is officially a starter (right wing) on the best team in his age group (undefeated, not even a tie, even against their arch nemesis team). Their team was so good that the league asked our kids to "play up" in the tournament against kids a year older, and they won two and tied one game. Against older boys on a new format (6v6 and goalie, instead of 4v4) that they'd never played and the older boys had.

At soccer camp this year, they moved my son up to the older age group because he was too good for the little kids. He's even watching World Cup games, instead of cartoons, for his morning wake-up show, even teams he doesn't know anything about except whether they're in his sticker book.

Now I get an email that the league is moving our team up an age level. My son is already "playing up" to U8 because he doesn't quite meet the age cut-off. Now they're going to be playing U9 Academy the whole season, so some boys might be almost 2 years older than mine.

I hope this is a good decision. We love and trust the coach, and this will expose the boys to a new level of coaching. In addition to our regular coach, he'll have access to a professional coach for skills advancement. We always make it clear to our son that he's only playing as long as he's having fun. Once he signs up for a season, he has to finish the season because he made a commitment, but he never has to sign up if he doesn't want to. I'm not pushing him, again I don't care about soccer except the fun of watching him.

I hope this move will foster his love of soccer, advance his skills, help him decide if he wants to join a semi-competitive team in a couple of years (okay with me if he does not). I don't think this will burn him out on the game, because the pro coaches taught his camp this year, and they were also great guys, and he loved it. I would not tolerate a coach (or parents, or fans) screaming at my son at this age. They're little kids playing for fun, after all!

So watch out, Landon Donovan, my son is at your heels! Okay, so Landon will have retired by then. And my husband would rather our son be a professional musician than a pro athlete, and we don't seriously think he'll be a pro soccer player. Being on the high school team, in a very large school, is enough of a stretch.

Okay, enough bragging about my soccer player. Just a proud mom who loves to watch him kick the ball around.