So this year I have signed on as Assistant Coach for Jayden’s soccer team. There was a need, and I played, so I stepped up to help. The reality is that I gave up soccer almost 20 years ago and I worry that I might not measure up.

Let’s go back 20 years when soccer was my life. I played modified, JV, and Varsity for my school team as well as simultaneously playing travel for a highly competitive travel team. When I was old enough I began refereeing for the local recreation league during the summer as well. Unfortunately, during my senior year I was plagued with ankle injuries. I remember being on crutches and having to sit out for my Senior Game. I had a scholarship offer from a good college but chose not to play due to the extensiveness of my ankle injuries. It was have surgery if you want to play, or don’t play and I chose not to play.

Now all of you reading this are wondering what this has to do with homeschooling. Well, let’s fast forward almost 20 years to the present day and I will tell you!

To coach my son’s team and possibly Ava’s in the future, I need to take the U.S Soccer E License Course. From what I understand I have two year to do it, but there is only one being offered locally this year. Having heard that it wasn’t a big deal, I decided to jump in with two feet and take the course sooner rather than later.

I signed up for the course which runs in March and just received my e-mail confirmation which included the course instructions. It turns out I have at least 4-5 hours of pre-course work (according to someone on a forum who recently took the course), 5 hours of class time and 12 hours of field time!!!! My body went in to full on panic mode! We are talking heart racing, stomach dropping, dry mouthed, short of breath panic!

The bottom line is….I gave the game up. Almost 20 years ago I walked away and didn’t look back. Now I am surrounded by coaches who have been living and coaching the game….FOREVER! (Or at least that is how it feels to me.) How can I measure up to that? I don’t even own a pair of Sambas! (Adidas sneakers that have been a soccer staple for as long as I can remember)

As I was expressing my panic on Facebook, one of my friends reminded me, “You have 3 kids, what could possibly frighten you?”

My first thought was, “Heck yeah!” I have the stretch marks, belly fat, and wrinkles to prove it! Not only did I give birth to 3 babies, but I have been homeschooling them for 7 years! In less than a year I will be homeschooling a high schooler! Doesn’t that count for something?

The answer is yes, yes it counts for something. I am strong, organized, and capable. I know how to research, take notes, and study. I explain things, in multiple ways if need be, and teach my children in every subject. I am raising and schooling 3 children, certainly I can take and pass a class for myself! I just need to put the insecurities aside and know that I am enough, and I am good enough.

Insert a sigh of relief here, albeit a small one, but relief just the same. 🙂 Just because I have been out of the game doesn’t not mean I can no longer play. I stay fit and active in my every day life, and I still know the rules of the game. It is like riding a bike, once you learn you just always know.

So as I work through the course requirements at home and as I attend the weekend long class (the classroom and field time) I will be thinking not that I am just a stay at home, homeschooling mother, but instead that, “Yes, I homeschool, and yes that counts for something!” And that my friends is what the U.S Soccer E License has to do with homeschooling….at least for me! 😉