Thwarted.

Steve has thwarted me again. Wm is very sad about soccer and doesn't want to play because the coaches yell at the kids and he doesn't like it. Which is TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE. Who likes to be yelled at? And Wm is playing co-ed rec league soccer. These are not kids who are going to get college scholarships. These are the awkward, bespectacled kids like Wm. It's supposed to be fun. Who care if they win or lose? Yet these coaches are screaming like it's the Super Bowl and millions of dollars are on the line.

So...what is a person to do? Well, I think a person talks to the coach and says, "Cool out, bro. Your kid sucks. My kid sucks. All the kids suck. Let them run around chasing the ball for an hour and then we can all go home, secure in the fact that we are good parents who forced our kids into an active, outdoor activity. Leave the yelling to the parents of kids in expensive club soccer. Maybe it will pay off for them and they'll get a partial scholarship to a crappy school one day. BECAUSE THIS SOCCER AND NO ONE CARES." However, Steve disagrees. He said I'm not allowed to say that (or anything).

I offered to send a polite email the rec league director and kindly ask that they tell their coaches to chill out and stop yelling. Again, thwarted. Apparently Steve is fine with the yelling and said it would be "weird" of me to complain. I played all kinds of sports as a kid. I was never yelled at like this. I mean, a coach may call out, "Get it!" or "Look alive!" or "Eyes on the ball!" But it never felt punitive or mean. Basically, I've decided, it's men. All my coaches were women. Men freak out about sports in an unhealthy way and I don't like it. Neither does Wm. He's sensitive. He's  Renaissance Man.