Our Happy Chaos

Okay, so we started Club Soccer with Jacob and Joshua last week and played our first games of the season this weekend. We knew the pace of our schedule was going to be kicked up a few notches, and suffice it to say that I'm not sure how long our family will be able to sustain this chaos. If our normal "Happy Chaos" becomes "Unhappy Chaos", then we have problems. Right now, this is what our schedule looks like...

• Monday: Jacob/Joshua Track Practice 2:45-4:30
• Monday: Jacob/Joshua Soccer Practice 6:00-7:30
• Monday: Josiah Soccer Practice: 6:00-7:30
• Tuesday: Jacob/Joshua Track Practice: 2:45-4:30
• Tuesday: Jacob/Joshua Soccer Practice: 6:00-7:30
• Tuesday: Jeremiah Soccer Practice: 5:30-6:30
• Wednesday: Jacob/Joshua Track Practice 2:45-4:30
• Wednesday: Jeremiah Soccer Practice: 5:30-6:30
• Wednesday: Everyone Church/Life Group: 6:30-8:00
• Thursday: Jacob/Joshua Track MEET: 4:00-7:30
• Thursday: Jesse Soccer Practice (Chris Coaches): 6:15-7:15
• Thursday: Jacob/Joshua Soccer Practice: 6:00-7:00 (Have to miss until Track meets are over)
• Friday: ????
• Saturday Morning: Jesse/Jeremiah/Josiah Soccer Games
• Saturday Afternoon: Jacob/Joshua Soccer Game (sometimes home/sometimes AWAY - and by AWAY, we mean that the games can be into the Chicago suburbs...)
• Sunday Morning: Everyone Church
• Sunday Afternoon: Jacob/Joshua Soccer Game (sometimes home/sometimes AWAY)

This craziness is in addition to the boys' schoolwork and homework and the school band and Chris' full-time job at NCC and our family business, with the tight deadlines and everything that has to be done before the kits ship on the 6th. We've always signed the boys up for recreational soccer in the spring (8-week season), so that is nothing new. But, Jacob and Joshua outgrew the league when they started Middle School. In order to get them into any sort of competitive soccer situations when they're not playing for their school during 8 weeks in the fall, we had to sign them up for Club Soccer. Now, I know that if anyone is reading this, you might be wondering why we have decided to impose this kind of schedule on ourselves. We have truly been resisting Club Soccer for years now, not wanting to succomb to the demands that it will place on our family. But, we decided to relent this spring and let Jacob and Joshua give it a go for a season or two. After Jake's yucky basketball season, it has become painfully clear to me that the boys won't have much opportunity to play any varsity ball in high school if we don't keep them playing and training in their chosen sport year round. The competition for spots on the high school teams is just going to be too tough when they'll be competing with kids who live and breath their chosen sport and have played every year all year since they were eight years old. It is a corrupt shame that athletics have come to this point in our society, but it is our reality. Soccer is probably our older boys' only option for any kind of team sports in high school, and I don't want them to miss out on that opportunity if they want to play. (Sigh...Sigh...)

We have struggled and continue to struggle with this decision. The boys enjoy playing and competing, but I just wonder what the ultimate price will be, and only time will tell. We're trying to preserve our family time together, and all of the boys are loving their opportunities to play soccer, which is unbelievably really fun for them (it just seems like a lot of hot and sweaty running to me :)). So, the verdict is still out. I hope we have made the right decision. I hope we aren't trading family relationships for soccer experiences...