....Soccer?

Well, that is how it is in my house. Spring soccer starts in February so we are already gearing up for it. The high schools in the area are already playing too. My son has always loved watching sports. Even before he could talk he would take the remote control and turn the channel back to sports. I would be watching a wonderful cooking show on PBS and he would change the channel back to arena football--of all things! So we tried t-ball when he was 3 or 4 years old. I hated t-ball. I had to play the outfield with him and it was hot. When he was in Pre-K and 4 years old we tried basketball. I love basketball. But Sam decided that basketball was too rough. He was always begging to play soccer but I kept saying no because I didn't think he would be very good at it and, well, more importantly, I thought it would be boring for me. I was wrong--on both counts. This will be the sixth season we've done soccer. He plays in the fall and the spring.

My knowledge of soccer was pretty limited. I knew more about hooliganism and stadium tragedies in Europe than the rules. I knew a few names like Lalas, Cobi something, David Beckham (thanks to that movie) and Pele. I used to watch a lot of ice hockey and knew that some of the rules were similar. But I definitely wasn't going to be anyone's "phone a friend" on Millionaire for soccer questions. So I did what you would expect a librarian to do. I checked out books and DVDs.

Here are a few I found helpful:

Really Bend It Like Beckham: David Beckham's Soccer Skills (DVD) My son watched this repeatedly and since i got to watch David Beckham it was a rare win-win DVD watching situation.

The Parent's Complete Guide to Soccer by Joe Provey

Soccer Rules Explained by Stanley Lover

Backyard Soccer Drills (DVD)

Soccer by Hugh Hornby This is a DK Eyewitness book so it is chock full of facts and photos.

The Complete Encyclopedia of Soccer by Keir Radnedge

and of course I can't forget

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Soccer by Deborah Crisfield This is an e-book so if you are sitting at home at midnight and need to know a quick fact you can log into the library's catalog and access this title.