soccer children are dramatic

I took the boy to soccer today. He’s 9, as are the other children on his team. As I watched them practice today, I noticed that they were very dramatic. They’re usually pretty dramatic during games too, but this was over the top.

The first time I noticed was when a boy got nailed in the mouth with the soccer ball. It looked like it hurt. He was actually pretty tough about it. He yelled briefly and took a few steps back while holding his hand over his mouth. Had that happened to me, I probably would’ve become a four-letter word fountain.

The girl standing next to him was the one who reacted strangely. She was very concerned…dramatically. She asked if he was alright. When he failed to answer in a timely manner, she leaned forward into his face and shouted “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!?!?”

It was a tad bizarre. Also, I don’t think it made him feel better.

Later the same girl was injured twice. Once, when my son accidentally stepped on her ankle, she hit the ground, as soccer children tend to. That’s the go-to response for something unexpected happening – hit the ground, kind of like an armadillo curling up to protect itself. My son, perhaps remembering her reaction to the previous injured child, screamed an apology at her. Also weird.

Then someone else accidentally kicked her hand. She shouted about that to.

So basically, soccer inspires two kinds of behavior in these particular children. Drop to the ground and gratuitous use of outside voice.